Rewired
by Phoenix-cry
Summary: This is the third in the 'Wired' series, the first being Crosswired.  When Sam ends up in the hands of an unknown Goa'uld help comes from an unlikely, and possiably more dangerous source.  More strongly rated than the others do to violence.
1. Chapter 1

Rewired

Chapter One

"Ah, Major Samantha Carter."

"It's 'Colonel' now."

"Of course, my apologies."

The conversation seemed to go stagnate at that point in time. Sam took the opportunity to assess her situation. It wasn't exactly good. She stood in the middle of the control deck of a Goa'uld Mothership. She was unbound, but at the same time she was unarmed and alone. 

Her gracious host was an ornately dressed blonde haired Goa'uld with dark eyes that glittered with an air of superiority. He flashed his eyes at her and she briefly considered using the trick Gabriel had taught her and flashing her own right back at him. Thinking better of she continued her inspection of the room instead.

There was another Goa'uld standing off to the side a few steps back from the throne like control chair where the first sat. This one looked young. His host was maybe in his late twenties, with a lean build that spoke of athletic grace rather than brute power. However, what caught Sam's eye the most about him was his girlishly long, jet black, straight hair that was marred by a two inch gleaming white streak that started at his right temple. 

After looking around Sam brought her murderous glare back to the blonde Goa'uld. He spread a smug, self satisfied, look onto his face that made her want to rush forward and ring his neck. Controlling herself she simply slung a smile across her own lips and crossed her arms over her chest with an air of defiant confidence.

"So...you know my name, sort of, but I can't recall ever having heard of you."

"I am Anshar."

"Anshar...Anshar." Sam repeated to herself. "Nope, not ringing any bells."

"Pity." Anshar shrugged. "I'm sure your Sho'va friend would have known me...unfortunately he's dead."

"I wouldn't place any bets on either one of those statements being true." Sam said casually. "However, here's something you can bank on: release me unharmed, or face the consequences."

"Have friends in high places do you?"

"Don't need them...I'll tear this place apart myself."

Anshar stood causing the other Goa'uld in the room to tense slightly. He was oddly submissive, like an abused dog that still loved his master. Sam didn't have time to worry about the snake in the grass, it was the one directly in front of her that took up her attention right now. Bluff and bravado were the only weapons she had at the moment and she figured she might as well use them.

Anshar fearlessly stepped up to Sam and smiled in a way that twisted her stomach. She glanced quickly to either side to see how far away his Jaffa guards were. Thinking she had time to get in one good strike Sam lashed out at Anshar. With lightning reflexes he caught and held her wrist. 

Not easily discouraged Sam went for him again with the other hand. Like all of his brethren the Goa'uld was deceptively fast and strong. With both writs now restrained Sam grit her teeth in frustration. She hadn't really thought she could kill or even hurt him. She just wanted to demonstrate that she wasn't afraid, even if that wasn't true.

"I am pleased to see that all the rumors about you are true." Anshar purred as he drew her closer. "I have heard many tales of your spitfire."

"Have you heard the ones where any slimy Snake that touches me tends to come to a sticky and unpleasant end?"

"Yes, I have as a matter of fact." Anshar admitted "Which is exactly why I'm not keeping you."

"What?"

Anshar pulled his lips over his teeth in a half sneer, half smile. He pushed his captive back and she quickly found herself in the arms of a powerful Jaffa guard. The second Goa'uld was now staring out the thick glassed window at the stars beyond, looking completely disinterested. Sam's attention was brought back to Anshar as he ran his hand through her short hair.

"Put a nice ribbon on her." Anshar ordered with a chuckled 

"My Lord?" The Jaffa asked confused.

"It will make her a more presentable gift."

"A gift?" The skunk haired Goa'uld suddenly spoke.

"For Lord Ba'al."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Are you sure?" General O'Neill asked.

"Yes, Sir."

"As in 'Absolutely' sure?"

"I'd go so far as to say absolutely positive, Sir."

"Alright, Major Terris, thank you." Jack sighed. "Make sure the area is secure and come on home."

Jack stared at the empty Gate long after the wormhole shut. He dragged his hands through his silver hair and muttered a few curses under his breath. For the first time he was ready to admit that he was getting too old for this.

Since going into retirement right at this moment wasn't an option Jack took a deep breath and headed down to the infirmary. Teal'c was still unconscious, but Jack had been assured by Dr. Brightman that his condition was stable.

It wasn't as easy to say the same thing about Daniel. He was sitting on the infirmary bed next to Teal'c's with a vacant stare. He hadn't said much since returning from the disastrous mission three hours ago. For the most part he just answered any question asked with a simple 'yes' or 'no'.

Jack pulled a chair up to the end of Teal'c's bed. Swiveling the chair around he sat in it backwards so that he could lean on the chair back. Daniel glanced at him, but didn't venture to say anything. He turned his unfocused eyes back to Teal'c. Not sure what to say Jack just studied his silent friend for a moment. 

It had been over a year since Daniel's return from Area 51 and yet his temple still held a bright white circular scar. As hard as it was to believe it was even more difficult these days to get him to leave the Base, other than stepping through the Gate. He never admitted out loud that he felt safer off world than in his own home, but the message was clear. 

"She was right behind me." Daniel suddenly muttered quietly.

"What?"

"Sam," Daniel sighed "she was right behind me."

Jack waited for Daniel to continue. When he didn't Jack got up and sat down on the bed next to him. Jack forced a smile, hoping that Daniel would attempt to do the same. However, it was going to take more than that to cheer him.

"What happened?" Jack finally just asked point blank.

"I'm not really sure." Daniel admitted. "It was supposed to be such a simple mission."

"There's no such thing."

"Apparently not. So much seemed to go wrong so quickly. Teal'c saved Sam's life...he knew something was wrong before any of us. When the ambush hit he was ready for it a split second before hand. He knew they would target her first, he grabbed her and took the staff weapon blast to the back that would have caught Sam in the chest. Everything after that was...chaos."

"But all three of you made it as far as the Gate." Jack commented to keep Daniel talking.

"Yeah, we did. At the Gate..." Daniel stopped.

Daniel seemed to be concentration on the scene in his head, but he wasn't sharing it with anyone. Jack waited a moment before prompting Daniel once more.

"Who dialed?"

"I did." Daniel answered morosely. "Teal'c couldn't even stand at that point."

"And Carter was laying down cover fire." Jack guessed.

Daniel nodded.

"You helped Teal'c up and came through..."

"And Sam didn't follow." Daniel finished. "She couldn't have been more than two feet from the Event Horizon."

"A lot can happen in two feet." Jack sighed. "But you still did everything you could. Teal'c was near death and Carter can take care of herself. You know that you did the right thing...right?"

"Yeah." Daniel muttered half heartedly.

Still sitting on the bed next to Daniel Jack shifted his weight uncomfortably. This situation was more complicated than just Carter. There was another piece that was missing out of Daniel's story. Jack had the piece in his hand, but he couldn't figure out how it fit into the puzzle.

"Something else happened." Jack stated rather than asked. "What happened to Mila and Ez'ri, the Tok'ra you were sent to check on."

"You already know what happened to her." Daniel answered darkly. "She's dead."

"Yeah...um...Major Terris tells me she was shot by a small caliber round..."

"Just ask me Jack."

"Fine... Did you kill her?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"She was a Goa'uld."

Silence fell over the pair. Jack searched Daniel's expression to see if he truly believed his statement and found that there was some doubt in his blue eyes. 

"Daniel..." Jack hesitated "...if she was a Goa'uld, why didn't the Jaffa take her body to resurrect her? Why would they just leave her there, symbiot and all, to just rot?"

"I don't know." Daniel admitted.

Daniel raked his hands through his hair and stood up. Jack watched him pace for a moment before getting up and stopping him. He waited for Daniel to explain himself further. When Daniel remained silent Jack lost a bit of his patience for the young Archeologist.

"Daniel, in about thirty seconds the Tok'ra are going to be coming here looking for answers. It would be just peachy if I had all the facts. Because somehow I don't think they are going to believe that after two thousand years one of their most trusted operatives is actually a Goa'uld. Particularly since the Jaffa that 'worshiped' her left her for dead and then disappeared without a trace along with one of my Officers."

"I've got bad news for you Jack: those are the facts."

"Dan..."

"When we got to the Gate she was there, waiting for us. I thought we had blown her cover somehow and that she was coming with us. I put Teal'c down to dial the Gate, she approached me. I had just finished dialing, when I looked up at her she smiled coldly and raised up her hand device. The stone started to glow so I...I shot her."

Jack sighed heavily. Daniel forced a sad smile, knowing that his story was completely unbelievable. Mila and Ez'ri were both well respected and loved in the Tok'ra community. The Tok'ra had lost contact with her a few months back and simply lacked the resources to investigate. Jack didn't even want to think about the verbal battle he was going to have with the Tok'ra over this.

"Are you sure she was going to kill you?"

"Yes." Daniel replied confidently. "Of course you only have my word on it."

"That's more than enough."

"For you maybe...the Tok'ra are still going to want to put me on trial."

"No," Jack said firmly "I won't allow it."

"Ja..."

"Daniel," Jack interrupted "against my better judgment we agreed to look in on Mila/Ez'ri to make sure she was okay...clearly she wasn't. This is far more their fault than yours. You had every right to defend yourself, she was a Traitor."

"The Tok'ra are never going to believe you."

"Then they can kiss my ass," Jack spat "because I'll be damned if I'm going to turn you over to them."

"Jack, right now we need their help to get Sam back. If they want me to, I will go."

"Something tells me we won't get their help no matter what we do." Jack snarled. "I mean when was the last time the Tok'ra ever truly helped us just for the sake of helping without some hidden motive?"

"Jaco..."

"Jacob doesn't count."

"Jack, the past doesn't matter. Right now the most important thing is getting Sam back and we don't even know where she is or even who took her. We can't risk upsetting the Tok'ra right now. We need th..."

"Daniel, stop." Jack interrupted. "If it really does come down to choosing between their help and yours you know that I'd pick you in a heartbeat."

"Jac..."

"More importantly I know Carter would too."

Daniel took a breath to protest, but when he saw the look Jack was giving him he thought better of it. With a sad smile he nodded.

"Then I'd better start working on figuring out who took her."

"That's the sprit." Jack smiled.

"I just hope she can hang on until then."

"Knowing Carter she's already caused enough damage to make whoever it is beg us to take her back."


	3. Chapter 3

Warning: violent chapter...you have been warned.

Chapter Three

Sam sat on the cold metal floor of a holding cell with her back up against the wall. She was grateful not to be wearing any ribbons or bows, but she got the feel that the only reason she wasn't was the simple fact that such an item probably didn't even exist on the ship. Jaffa weren't known for their arts and crafts skills.

Sighing heavily Sam looked out the grated door at the two Jaffa guards that stood with their backs to her. She had given up on trying to talk to them long ago. It made her realize just how lucky they had been to met Teal'c. She worried about him briefly, but told herself that he'd recovered from worse.

Sam snapped her attention back to the guards when they suddenly tensed. She got to her feet as they left their posts. The Goa'uld with the black and white hair stepped in front of the bars. He brought his hand device against the door panel and the grate slid open. Sam watched him warily as he stared at her. 

"I am Xian." The Goa'uld announced in his reverberating voice.

"I hope that isn't supposed to mean something to me." 

"Please, there is something I must ask you." Xian said gravely. 

"Did you just say 'please'?" 

"I hear it works well with your kind." Xian replied. 

"You have been grossly misinformed. I'm not answering any of your questions."

To emphasize her point Sam glared at Xian spitefully. He returned her look with one of icy patience. His delicate features and athletic frame seemed tense and nervous. Neither of which were qualities usually found in either Goa'uld nor Tok'ra. He closed his emerald green eyes and sighed heavily.

"Trust me, Anshar will not ask as nicely as I." Xian said seriously. "There can be no harm in talking to me and it will save you a lot of distress."

"I never thought I'd live to see this day." Sam chuckled hollowly.

"What day?" Xian asked with a confused look.

"When a pair of Goa'uld would try to play 'Good cop, Bad cop' with me."

"I don't know what that means."

"I thought gods knew everything." Sam mocked.

"Just tell me Raz'la's fate."

"I don't know who that is." Sam shrugged.

"You would have known her as Mila/Ez'ri."

"I'm not telling you anything."

"You told us your rank." He countered.

"A moment of weakness...it won't happen again."

For a brief moment Sam could have sworn she saw a smile twitch at the corner of the Goa'uld's lips. He approached her and she instinctively backed into the corner. He stopped just in front of her and looked down on her. There was something slightly rancid about his breath that caused Sam to press herself harder against the wall. 

"Please, just tell me." Xian said softly. "No one will think you weak."

"I will." Sam snarled.

Once again two different emotions struggled to show themselves across Xian's face. Sam was starting to become more fearful of this Goa'uld, there was something not quite right about him. If he was Tok'ra he would have told her so by now.

Her fears were confirmed as his mood suddenly turned violent. Xian lashed out and tangled his hand into her hair. He jerked his captive closer and held her there. Sam didn't struggle. She knew that there was there no point to it, and that in all likelihood it would only excite him further. Her ears suddenly caught the sounds of the two Jaffa returning.

"Lord Xian?" One of the Jaffa asked timidly.

"What?!" He spat angrily.

"Lord Anshar wishes to see the Tau'ri female."

"Inform him that I will bring her to him when I am finished with her." He growled.

"Lor..."

"Leave!"

Not about to press their luck any further the Jaffa bowed respectfully and backed away. Xian stayed motionless while he watched them leave. When he spoke again he did so in a normal human type voice.

"Please, do this peacefully...I'm only trying to help you."

"If you're going to help me, then help me get out of here." Sam snarled back. "But if all you're offering me is a chance to turn coward then take me to Anshar because I'd rather deal with him."

"I suppose it was foolish of me to think that you'd act any differently." Xian sighed in defeat.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

Xian released his hold on Sam's hair and took one of her wrists instead. He lead her through the corridors seemingly aimlessly. Sam studied him for a moment and could almost see his conflicting thoughts. 

"You can't stand being subordinate to Anshar." Sam stated rather than asked.

"No." Xian admitted.

"Then why don't you leave, or kill him and take over his army?"

"I need him...for the moment."

"Why?"

"I can't tell you."

"And yet you want me to answer your questions?"

Xian shut his jaw with an audible snap. Sam realized that it had been the wrong thing to say and that she wasn't going to get anymore chatter out of him at the moment. Eventually they came to a large ornate door. His grip at her wrist was trembling slightly.

Sensing that Xian may be able to protect her, if for no other reason than to annoy Anshar, Sam tried to catch his eye in a silent plea for actual help. However, Xian refused to look at her at this point. 

With new found determination he snaked his hand back into her hair. The door slid open at his command and he dragged Sam into the room beyond. She looked around the lavishly decorated living room that seemed to double as a library. In the back of the room was a raised dais with a large plush couch-like lounge that Anshar was laying on. 

Xian forced Sam over to the dais as pushed her down onto her knees at the bottom of the stairs. Anshar sat up and smiled brightly. He got up and walked over to his guests. Sam jerked away as he tried to run his fingers through her hair.

"You are dismissed, Xian." Anshar said casually.

"She is dangerous my Lord, she has already injured four guards." Xian informed. "I wish to stay for your safety."

Anshar's face twisted with rage. Before Xian could apologize Anshar knocked him back with the pulse from his hand device. Xian was slow to get back to his feet and blood dripped from his lip. 

"You are dismissed." Anshar hissed. 

Xian grit his teeth in humiliation and pent up rage. However he eventually forced himself to bow and back out of the room. Sam didn't watch him go, she just stared at the black marble floor. Anshar sat back down on the lounge chair. For what seemed like hours he just stared at her.

"Do you know what a Vel'na is?" Anshar asked suddenly.

Sam didn't reply.

"It is an exceedingly rare species of snake."

"Fascinating." Sam said dryly.

"They truly are. They have a unique ability...they can taste fear."

Sam rolled her aqua eyes. She'd had about as much Goa'uld melodrama as she could take in one lifetime. Anshar didn't seem to care that his prey wasn't impressed by the show. He got to his feet and wandered over to a gold trimmed glass tank on the side wall that Sam hadn't noticed before.

Without hesitation Anshar lifted up the heavy gold lid on the tank and reached inside. He pulled out a slim snake about three feet in length. The reptile had a brilliant pattern etched into its scales. The main body was a deep amethyst colour, while the belly was a pale yellow. Racing down its sinuous back was a fluorescent blue spotted zigzag pattern.

The snake wrapped itself around Anshar's wrist and tasted his skin with its bright pink tongue. Sam brought her gaze back to the floor as Anshar walked back over. He stood behind her causing the hair on the back of Sam's neck to stand on end.

"Your friend murdered my Tok'ra." Anshar hissed dangerously. "I need another. Where can I find one?"

"I wouldn't know."

Although Sam knew that Anshar would never believe her the answer she had given him was the truth. The Tok'ra's numbers were dwindling and they kept their locations a secret unless it was absolutely necessary to reveal themselves.

Sam tensed as Anshar put his cold hand on her shoulder. The snake uncoiled itself from wrist and sought out a warmer place to be. Assuming that the creature was poisonous Sam held her breath as it slithered around her neck and then slipped down the front of her shirt.

"He'll only bite you if he feels threatened." Anshar chuckled. "Of course they tend to fear things that fear them. But if you are truly unafraid of your current situation in life then he's perfectly harmless."

Trying her hardest to ignore Anshar Sam concentrated on taking deep slow breaths to try and remain calm. The snake still had his tail wrapped around her neck and was flicking his forked tongue against her stomach. The reptile seemed curious, but so far it did not appear to be aggressive. 

Sam was starting to think that she may actually pass the snake's test. However when Anshar gently ran his fingertips down the back of her neck she automatically jolted. Sam cried out as the snake panicked and sunk his tiny teeth into the smooth skin of her stomach. 

"I thought as much." Anshar chuckled.

He reached down Sam's shirt to retrieve his pet and walked it calmly over to its tank. Sam wrapped her arms over the bite mark. What had started as a feeling of heat had quickly spread into a burning sensation. By the time Anshar returned to his place on the dais the burning had grown into a searing pain. Sam ground her teeth together and panted against the venom coursing through her veins.

"The Vel'na's poison is a hemotoxin." Anshar informed in a casual tone. "It slowly destroys blood cells and liquefies internal organs. I know I don't have to tell you that it's terribly painful, what you may not know is that it can take twelve to twenty four hours to kill."

Sam could hear his words, but she was having trouble understanding them. Although still on her knees she still had to take one hand off her twisting stomach to place it against the cold floor to keep her balance. Anshar watched her struggle pitilessly.

"As much as I would enjoy watching you drown in your own toxic blood, I have better things to do." Anshar announced. "So unless you have something interesting to say I believe that we are done here. Maybe a slow death or two will make you more willing to speak with me."

Even if Sam knew the name and location of every Tok'ra in the Galaxy she wouldn't be able to tell the Goa'uld a word of it at the moment. It was taking all of her concentration not to be thrown into a fit of dry heaving that would only make matters worse. Tears stained with blood slipped down her cheeks as the venom ruined her delicate capillary system.

It wasn't until one of Anshar's Jaffa guards hauled her to her feet that Sam cried out in anguish. Anshar's laughter grated against her nerves, but it wasn't enough to give her the strength to keep from signing again. 

Unable to stand on her own the Jaffa dragged Sam back to her cell. By the time they arrived her throat was already raw and dry from a combination of her body's reaction to the hemotoxin and her own screaming. 

Once released she collapsed to the floor. Despite the violent trembling she instinctively made her way to corner for some small amount of psychological comfort. Laying on her back she put all of her effort into bringing her laboured breath under control.

As soon as the Jaffa slid the heavy grated door closed Xian appeared once again. Even though the Jaffa clearly belonged to Anshar Xian stared them down fearlessly. 

"Leave." Xian growled.

The Jaffa made a hasty retreat without question. Xian opened the door and walked purposefully up to Sam. He had a terrifyingly murderous look in his green eyes. He knelt down beside her and drew out a syringe of bright blue fluid from a deep inner pocket of his clothing. 

Sam fought briefly to move away from him, but every motion brought with it a wave of nauseating pain. Xian brushed the bloodstained tears from Sam's cheek. He gently pushed her face away from himself so that she couldn't see what he was doing. Sam whimpered as he sunk the needle and its contents into her exposed neck. Wordlessly he stood and walked briskly away, however, Sam didn't notice.

Whatever he had forced into her veins not only stopped the pain, but her heart as well. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Daniel sat at his desk pouring over Tok'ra reports of recent Goa'uld activity. However, the only good it was doing was making him feel like he was at least trying to help Sam. The reports were so vague that they were useless, and there were whole sections missing, sometimes even just half a sentence. It was as though they didn't even care if he noticed that the records were incomplete.

"It's like reading every other page in a mystery novel." Daniel sighed.

He put down the ream of paper that he had been sifting through. Lost in thought, contemplating his next best move, he was startled nearly out of his skin when there was a light knock at his door. A young man with bright red hair peeked into his office.

"Dr. Jackson?"

"Yes...um...Taylor." Daniel replied.

"That's right." Taylor smiled and stepped completely into the office.

"Of SG-6." Daniel recalled. "How can I help you?"

"I was actually hoping that I might be able to help you."

"I have to admit that any information at this point would be greatly appreciated."

"I just got back from PX4-927, where we were...um..."

"Cleaning up the mess from SG-1's last mission?" Daniel supplied with a rueful grin.

"Basically." Taylor agreed. "Anyway, one of the dead Jaffa had a different tattoo than the other seven."

"That's not unusual, anytime a Goa'uld kills another they take over their armies."

"Yeah, but this one was wearing this."

Taylor drew a small plastic evidence bag out of his breast pocket and handed it to Daniel. Turning it over in his hands Daniel made a noise of surprised disgust as if he'd just found a cockroach in his salad. In the bag was a golden First Prime Seal. Daniel put it down and pushed it away.

"Please don't bring me miscellaneous parts off of dead Jaffa without at least warning me first." Daniel instructed.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry...it's not real." Taylor said quickly.

"What?"

"It's fake, some sort of latex." Taylor explained. "He was wearing it over his real tattoo, a plain black one."

"Now that is unusual." Daniel muttered as he picked the Seal up again. "Was the pattern the same underneath?"

"No." Taylor answered and reached back into his pocket and pulled out a Polaroid photo. "As a warning, this is a picture of a miscellaneous dead Jaffa."

"Thanks for the heads up." Daniel smiled.

Taking the photo Daniel studied the pattern tattooed into the Jaffa's forehead. It looked somewhat like two intertwined snakes. He was so intend on trying to identify the mark that he completely forgot about Taylor until the young man cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry," Daniel said automatically. "Lost in thought there for a moment."

"Do you recognize the symbol?"

"No." Daniel admitted. "But this is a tremendous help. Thank you for bringing it to me, I realize that it goes against protocol."

"Practically stealing, but it's worth it if it helps bring Colonel Carter back."

"I'm sure it will. Thank you again."

"Anytime."

Taylor smiled once more and ducked out of Daniel's office. Having a fresh place to start Daniel pulled about a dozen books off his shelf and started combing through them. He wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for, but there had to be some reference to twin snakes somewhere.

It seemed like only minutes before someone was knocking on Daniel's door again. However the fact that he'd taken nearly ever book off his shelves said that it had been hours since Taylor had paid him a visit. 

Jack had not knocked to gain permission to enter. He had knocked to try and pry Daniel's attention away from his books. Daniel looked up and then started casting about his disaster area of a desk. He picked up a few of the books, but didn't seem to find what he was after.

"What are you looking for?" Jack asked.

"My glasses." Daniel answered irritably.

"Um...you're wearing them."

Daniel stopped cold. He reached up and pulled his glasses off and stared at them for a moment before putting them back on.

"I knew that." Daniel lied.

"Daniel, I'm not going to ask you to go home, because I know you won't. However if you don't go and lay down in one of the VIP rooms for a few hours I'm going to have Dr. Brightman come in here and sedate you forcibly."

"I need to figure this out."

"You need to get some sleep."

"Have you slept?"

"That's not the point."

"I didn't think so." Daniel replied seeing right through Jack's weak attempt to change the subject. "I have a new lead on which Goa'uld took Sam, I just can't seem to quite figure it out."

"What cha got?"

"A Jaffa symbol. I don't recognize which Goa'uld it belongs to. Perhaps we could ask the Tok'ra..."

"Oh...um...no can do." Jack forced an innocent smile.

"Jack...what did you do?" Daniel demanded.

"Let's just say that we're not exactly enemies with the Tok'ra, but we're no longer exactly allies either."

"Jack!"

"Hey, I say 'good riddance'." Jack snarled. "They weren't going to lift a finger to help us. Worse yet, they knew about Mila."

"What?" Daniel asked incredulously. "They new she was a Goa'uld?!"

"Okay so 'knew' is a strong word." Jack admitted. "They 'suspected'."

"And they didn't tell us?"

"Tal'es said, and I quote, 'we didn't want your people going in there guns blazing in case she was still one of us'. I didn't take too kindly to that. When I told them that their little 'omission' cost us the capture of one of our own I was informed that they couldn't really help us, but that they would 'keep an ear out to see if she turned up and would let us know'."

"Let me guess," Daniel sighed "you told them not to bother."

"I didn't say it that nicely, but yeah, that was my basic message." 

"I don't understand, I mean they've been difficult to work with before but they've never just abandoned us like this."

"Well, apparently someone is 'hunting' them."

"The Gou'ald have always hunted them."

"Well now they are doing so with amazing efficiency. In the past six months nearly a dozen Tok'ra have disappeared."

"There's a leak somewhere." Daniel guessed.

"And they think it's us." 

"What?!" Daniel exsclaimed. "They didn't say that, did they?"

"Not in so many words, but it was clear that they think we're to blame."

"Jack...that's a dangerous thing to say."

"Is it?"

"If that was true then what happened on PX4-927 was..."

"A trap."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Sam woke gently without opening her eyes. The soft surface under her felt oddly unfamiliar, but she didn't worry about it. She took a deep breath and stretched out like a lioness on the African Savanna. Her memories of the previous day were sketchy at best and had crossed over in her mind into the land of nightmares. 

Rolling over onto her side Sam finally opened her eyes to face the day. The scene that greeted her was not the bedroom on Earth that she had been expecting. Still confused from her reincarnation in the sarcophagus Sam furrowed her brow in thought while she tried to place where she knew the man who was staring at her.

It wasn't until a lecherous grin slipped across Anshar's face that all of the memories came flooding back. Gasping violently Sam scrambled off the back of the chaise-lounge she had woken up on. She got to her feet and backed up a few feet until she was against the ornate wall. Anshar watched calmly.

"You work with Naquadria too much." Anshar clucked.

"What?"

"You were dying long before I poisoned you." 

Sam took a breath to protest, but realized that there was no point. She didn't even want to know how he had discovered the cancer or how he guessed its cause. When Jonas had first given them the Naquadria she'd had a brief accident in the lab with it. She hadn't even been exposed long enough to cause a burn. 

However nine months ago when one of her off-world blood work check-ups didn't come back quite right she knew instantly why. It was an extremely slow growing form, but it was completely systemic and there was nothing that could be done to stop or remove it. Sam hadn't told a soul, not even her own brother. Until it began to affect her health and performance she had every right to keep her condition between herself and Dr. Brightman.

"Luckily for you," Anshar spread a sickening grin across his face "you now have a second chance..."

"You want me to thank you?" Sam hissed.

"That would be nice."

"Forget it."

"Now don't be like that. We got off to a rough start, but hopefully we can put that behind us. It's going to be a long trip to get to Ba'al. We might as well both enjoy ourselves, you'll find me to be a very forgiving God."

"You're not a god."

"I am as far as you are concerned." Anshar returned evenly. "I control your Fate completely. I've given you life, I can take it away again...as many times as needed."

"That doesn't make you a god, it makes you a psychopath."

Sam instantly regretted her words. Fury twisted Anshar's features and he jumped up on the dais. There wasn't time for Sam to run, not that there was really anywhere to go. Anshar raised up his hand device and bathed her in its amber light. Sam was instantly dropped to her knees by the paralyzing effects of the stone. When she started to struggle for breath he stopped.

"No matter if you believe in me or not," Anshar growled "you will give me what I want. The only question is how far are you going to make me go to get it?"

Sam tried to tell herself not to fight back, she knew that there was nothing that a Goa'uld loved more. However when Anshar reached down and affectingly brushed her cheek it was instinct for her to snatch his wrist.

Committed to her course of action Sam jerked hard on Anshar's wrist while at the same time she sprang up from the floor. Taken off guard Anshar was easily pulled off balance. His face slammed into Sam's shoulder temporarily blinding him with a haze of pain. 

Sam didn't hesitate to take the sudden advantage and brought her knee up hard into his stomach. Knocked breathless he took a few awkward steps away from his attacker. Leaping over the small backless couch Sam ran to the closed door. 

She was not surprised to find the door locked with a code. Anticipating this she didn't waste anytime in ripping the access panel off the wall to get at the Crystals behind it. Although panicked she forced herself to remain focused on rearranging the Crystals.

Sam could hear Anshar getting up and coming closer, but she didn't dare stop to look at him. Trembling she pulled out what she hoped to be the last Crystal that would open the door if placed properly. The stone suddenly slipped from her grasp.

Anshar was there to catch the precious Crystal. Sam tried to back away, however Anshar was a quick as the pets he kept. He yanked her away from the door and threw her to the floor. Redirecting his attention to the panel he placed the glowing stone in its proper place and secured the panel back on the wall.

While he was distracted Sam got back to her feet and started looking for any form of weapon. The closest thing was a heavy glass orb about the size of a large grapefruit on a gold stand. It didn't seem to have any function other than decoration. Not knowing what else to do she picked it up and threw it at Anshar with all of her strength.

Glancing over at just the right moment a look of shock flashed on Anshar's face. He ducked just in time and the glass sphere shattered nosily against the closed door. Anshar was showered in glass, however, he easily shook it out of his cloths and hair.

"You weren't kidding when you said you'd pull this place apart with your bare hands." Anshar chuckled.

Noticing another doorway in the back corner Sam turned to try and reach it. Anshar pushed her forward from across the room with a pulse from his hand device. Stumbling forward Sam fell to her hands and knees right in front of the Vel'na's tank.

Sam automatically froze as the tiny snake reared up his brightly coloured head. Her memories of the reptile's painful bite were powerful enough to make her fearful of the creature even when it was behind glass. Distracted by the serpent Sam didn't even notice Anshar's approached. He grabbed the back of her neck like a mother cat picking up one of her kittens.

Anshar forced her back up onto the dais and pressed her against the wall roughly. Sam's blood flashed to ice as Anshar ripped open her lightweight jacket. He snaked his hands down either side of her waist and untucked her black t-shirt to make his intentions known. Giving her a second this think about it Anshar simple pressed his weight against her.

"Wait, no...please. I... I have a Tok'ra for you." Sam panted. "I'll take you to him...just don't do this, please."

"What's his name?" Anshar asked calmly as he took some of his weight off of her.

"Sel'mac."

Anshar seemed satisfied by this answer. He shifted his weight once again to make her more comfortable. However, when he leaned in close and placed his lips against her ear ice ran back down Sam's spine.

"Nice try, Samantha." Anshar purred. "But your father's dead...he can't help you now."

Realizing she'd lost Sam just closed her eyes to wait for it to be over. Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes as Anshar bit at the side of her neck. Once more he tugged at her shirt, but then suddenly stopped. Sam was concentrating so hard on pretending she was somewhere else that she didn't even notice at first that Anshar was in distress.

It wasn't until he pulled away that Sam opened her eyes. She stared at him in shock. He looked confused himself as blood began to trickle from his parted lips. He tried to speak, but only managed a sickening gurgling sound. Sam watched passively as Anshar's eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the floor.

Sam gasped and pushed herself against the cold wall at the sight that had been revealed when Anshar had fallen. Xian stood just a few feet away with Anshar's blood dripping off the ornate knife he held. He looked down vacantly at the curved blade in his hand and let it fall to the floor. 

"I...I couldn't let it happen." Xian stuttered, as though he needed to explain himself. "I'm sorry I let things go as far as they did. I'd ask for forgiveness, but I don't see any reason for you to give it to me."

Sam just stared at Xian in disbelief. He turned away from her and went to go sit on the steps of the dais. He raked his hands through his long midnight and moonbeam hair compulsively. Eventually Xian sighed heavily and just bowed his head.

Sam snapped out of her initial shock and looked down at Anshar. Xian had lanced the long blade through his back and into his heart. She stepped cautiously over his body and quietly picked up the weapon. Assuming she wasn't safe yet Sam slowly approached Xian with the knife held high.

Hearing her bare feet against the marble floor Xian casually looked over his shoulder. Sam stopped cold, unsure of what to do next. Seemingly unconcerned Xian turned his face away from her once more. 

"Go ahead...I wouldn't blame you." Xian said quietly. "I deserve far worse."

"Who **are** you?" Sam demanded.

"Don't you know?" He asked sadly. 

Sam took a step back as he turned his emerald eyes on her once more. She found herself momentarily lost in his sorrowful gaze. For a split second he allowed a genuine smile touch his lips. The stained knife fell from Sam's hand and clattered to the floor nosily.

"Ohmygod..." Sam breathed in disbelief. "Gabriel?"

"Hi, Sam."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Jack woke with a start. Raising his head up off his desk he rubbed at his cheek which had gone numb from resting on the hard surface. He didn't have to look at the clock on the wall to know that it was the early hours of the morning. The quiet, almost mournful, hum of the Base told him the time. 

Jack wandered out of his office into the Control Room. The late night technician quickly took his feet off the other chair and went to stand. Yawning Jack just waved at him dismissively to let him know he didn't really care if the graveyard shift relaxed, just as long as he was awake. 

"Any activity?" Jack asked even though he knew the answer.

"None, Sir."

Sighing heavily Jack continued on his journey down to the infirmary. Once again disturbing the late night crew, the medic put down her book and stood at attention. 

"As you were." Jack muttered.

The medic still seemed nervous, but she did relax. Teal'c was still sleeping soundly, partly from the injury and partly from the score of drugs they were giving him. Dr. Brightman had assured Jack on several occasions that despite the deep sleeping Teal'c was not only stable, but improving. 

"How's he doing?"

"Not very talkative." The medic replied with a shy smile.

"Ah, well, good to hear that his personality is still intact." Jack forced a smile. "Call me if anything changes."

"Yes, Sir."

"If I'm not in my office, I'll be in Dr. Jackson's."

"Yes, Sir."

Leaving the young medic Jack stalked the empty halls to the elevator. Waiting while the elevator took him down to Daniel's office Jack just stared at the metal door vacantly. He was doing everything in his power not to think about Carter, however, 'everything in his power' wasn't nearly enough. 

Concentrating on getting her back was the only thing that kept his suddenly over active imagination from describing to him what she was going through. Shaking his head to clear it Jack stepped off the elevator.

Inviting himself into Daniel's office he found it in far more disarray than usual. The books that were usually on the shelves lay on the floor, having over flowed off his desk. Daniel himself was passed out with his head down on the cluttered desk as well. 

"Daniel?" Jack asked softly.

When Jack got no response he considered just going back to the infirmary. When he turned to leave his eye caught a small flat artifact with a mirrored surface on it. He picked up the reflective object and quietly walked over to Daniel's desk. 

Jack held the small mirror close to Daniel's face. His breath successfully fogged the shiny artifact, confirming that he was just sleeping. Some sixth sense told Daniel something was happening. Still halfway between asleep and awake he furrowed his brow. Opening his eyes he looked up at Jack and took a moment to get his bearings.

"What are you doing?" Daniel asked irritably as he sat up.

"Just checking."

"Frustration isn't lethal." Daniel sighed.

"Not going well, eh?"

"Not really." Daniel admitted. "I've got about a dozen names that could be our Goa'uld. Apep, Ratumibulu, Ophion, Amphisbaena, Anshar, Ret..."

"Whoa, Danny, stop. None of these names mean anything to me."

"They are gods of the past associated with snakes, any number of which may have been Goa'uld."

"Okay...so?"

"Oh, I forgot to show you."

Daniel picked up a few of the books until he found the fake First Prime Seal and the photograph. Jack looked them over for a moment and returned them to the desk. Daniel told him everything Taylor had said.

"Alright," Jack thought for a moment "if you had to pick just one of these guys to tell me about, who would it be?"

Daniel thought about the questions carefully. He picked up an open book that was on top of one of the piles. He flipped through the pages while Jack watched. When he got to the page he was looking for he handed the book to Jack. 

"Anshar, sky god." Jack read the bold title. 

"Anshar." Daniel confirmed.

"Why him?"

"Intuition?" Daniel forced smile. "Seriously, he is the only one that is associated specifically with two snakes: Lahmu and Lahamu."

"Of course...who are they?"

"Anshar's parents. He was said to be born of two gods who were in the form of serpents."

"Sounds like a Goa'uld."

"Perhaps his parents were Unas Goa'ulds."

"They are somewhat snake like...at least they're scaly. What do we know about this guy?"

"Anshar is an Akkadian god of Mesopotamian Era."

"Dumb this down for me, Daniel."

"If Anshar is a Goa'uld he is a very old one."

"A survivor."

"Exactly. We keep killing off System Lords and new Goa'uld seem to replace them, craftier ones. In essence we're cleaning out the Goa'uld gene pool."

"Weeding out the dumb ones."

"In a way. We've been taking out the Goa'uld with the most 'brawn', the ones with the most 'brain' are probably lurking in the shadows for just this kind of opportunity."

"What would some Goa'uld geezer want with Carter?"

"That I don't know..." Daniel trailed off.

"But you have a fairly good idea." Jack accused. 

"There is still one System Lord out there with enough power to keep all the others in check."

"Ba'al." Jack growled. 

"Right. If he was gone there would be infighting chaos among the remaining System Lords."

"A perfect situation for someone to come in under the radar and take Ba'al's place as Supreme Slimy Bastard."

"Exactly."

"What does this have to do with Carter?"

"If I was Anshar, I'd use Sam to get to Ba'al."

"There's nothing he loves more than melodramatic revenge." Jack sighed and rubbed at his temples.

"Jack, this is all speculation." Daniel pointed out. "I could be wrong."

"How often does that happen?"

Daniel took a breath to answer when the phone on his desk rang. He had to search for a few rings to get to it, but he managed to answer it before it stopped. Daniel listened for a few moments and then thanked the caller.

"Teal's awake." Daniel informed as he stood.

Jack picked the photo of the Jaffa off the desk and headed for the infirmary with Daniel close behind. When they got there Teal'c was arguing with the night medic and trying to get out of bed. 

"Easy, Big Guy." Jack ordered.

"General O'Neill, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c replied with a respectful nod. 

"How are you feeling?" Daniel asked.

"Where is Colonel Carter?" Teal'c asked rather than answered. 

Jack and Daniel exchanged an uncomfortable glance. Neither one of them wanted to break the news, and they didn't have to.

"She did not make it through the Stargate." Teal'c said gravely.

"No." Daniel admitted. "We're not really sure what happened."

"Our best guess at the moment is that she's been kidnapped by a Gou'ald."

"What of the Tok'ra Mila?"

"She's dead." Daniel answered sadly.

"Our best lead right now is this." Jack handed Teal'c the photograph. "Do you recognize who that belongs to?"

"Anshar." Teal'c answered without hesitation. "An old Goa'uld, long ago exiled from the ring of System Lords. He has not been heard from in thousands of years, but all Jaffa have always been warned to be on the look out for him and those loyal to him."

Jack weld his eyes shut and pinched hard at the bridge of his nose. When he opened his eyes again he looked to Daniel who was staring at him with a horrified expression. Jack used was what left of his strength to force a smile.

"Daniel, do you ever get tired of being right?" 

"I'm a little sick of it right now." 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"Wha...what are you doing here?" Sam stuttered.

"I could ask you the same question." Gabriel flashed brief smile. "I could have sworn that the Galaxy was big enough for the two of us."

"Seriously, Gabriel. Why are you here?"

"Just be grateful that I am." Gabriel replied as he stood up. "Come on, we need to get you home."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on here." Sam said firmly. "Where is Rea'beka? Who is this new hos..."

"Sam, I don't have time for this. Every second that you stay on this ship the harder it is going to be to get you off. Now, please, just tru..."

Gabriel froze as the door into Anshar's chamber slid open. Anshar's First Prime was standing on the other side. He automatically bowed respectfully before taking in the scene. When he saw his god laying on the floor in a pool of congealing blood he raised his staff weapon to fire.

"Jaffa, kree!" Gabriel roared in his Goa'uld voice. 

"Xia..."

"Lord Xian!" Gabriel barked. "Anshar has been slain, I am your God now."

The First Prime hesitated to fire. He thought hard about this new situation while Sam held her breath waiting to see if he'd fall for the act. Gabriel flashed his emerald eyes and snarled at the Jaffa when he didn't lower his weapon. 

Unwilling to bow to a new god the First Prime made a move to fire the staff weapon. Gabriel threw him back to the floor with his hand device causing the staff blast to slam into the ceiling in a shower of sparks. Gabriel ran across the room and closed the door before the Jaffa could get back to his feet.

Sam rushed over as well and slipped in between Gabriel and access panel. Ripping the panel off she once again exposed the Crystals. Working fast she began to rearrange them. Gabriel watched over her shoulder with interest.

"Put your access code into the keypad." Sam instructed.

Gabriel snaked his hand under Sam's arm to reach the golden keypad. With practiced ease he placed in the correct code causing the Crystals to change colour slightly. Sam rearranged a few more of them and then pressed a code of her own into the panel.

"What are you doing?" Gabriel asked.

"Sealing off as many corridors as I can, and changing the pass code."

"I've missed you." Gabriel purred with a quick chuckle.

"Gabriel," Sam said sternly as she turned around and gently pushed him away "this is only a quick fix, they'll find a way around it."

"I guess it's on to 'Plan B' then." 

"What's 'Plan B'?"

"I don't know yet, but I assume it's going to involve lots of running and getting shot at by a ship of angry Jaffa."

"I know that plan all too well." Sam sighed. "However we usually try to keep that for 'Plan C' or even 'D' if possible."

Gabriel chuckled and Sam found herself smiling despite the situation. Taking advantage of her brief let down in guard Gabriel wrapped his arms around her waist. Pulling her close he drew her into another uninvited kiss. When he released her Sam shoved him away.

"Gabriel!" Sam admonished. "What is wrong with you?"

"I figured since we're probably both going to die I might as well." Gabriel shrugged. "Plus you don't have a gun, so I figured I was safe...well, safer."

"About that, are there any weapons in here?"

"Just Anshar's hand device."

"It will have to do."

Sam walked back over to Anshar and gingerly removed his hand device. She slipped it on and inspected it. She had used one once in desperation, but still wasn't exactly sure how it worked. Turning away from Gabriel she practiced a few time trying to get the device to pulse.

"Alright, I get the basic idea." Sam announced. "What now? Gabriel? Gabriel?"

Sam turned and found herself alone. Gabriel and Anshar were gone. Although it wasn't difficult to figure out where they went. A thick trail of blood lead through the now open back door. Knitting her brow Sam followed the sticky path.

Gabriel was just finishing placing Anshar in the sarcophagus that lay in the next room. He was panting from the effort of moving the dead weight and leaned against the healing device, struggling to catch his breath. Shaking his head to clear it he pressed the button that would slide the lid closed.

"What are you doing?" Sam demanded.

Gabriel looked up with a guilty expression and then continued. Once the lid was closed he began pressing a combination of buttons that Sam had never even noticed were buttons before. Feeling the ice crystals forming in her blood once more Sam raised her new hand device.

"Gabriel, stop."

"Sam...you don't understand. I still need him. Don't worry, I've locked it."

"Locked it?"

"He can't get out. Now let's just work on getting you home, or at least off this ship."

"Gabriel, I want to know what is going on."

"It is none of your concern." 

The sudden dangerous tone in Gabriel's voice kept Sam from arguing, for the moment. Gabriel noticed the fear that had crept into her aqua eyes and sighed heavily. He walked over to her slowly. She stepped back as he reached out to touch her cheek.

"I'm sorry, Sam. You have no idea how much damage you've done by being here."

"It wasn't really my choice."

"I know it wasn't." Gabriel smiled once again. "Let's just get you to an al'kesh."

"You can't stay here, the Jaffa will kill you."

"I'll think of something. Anshar didn't see that it was me and he'll protect me."

"Why?"

Gabriel did not reply. He took Sam's wrist and lead her back out into the main chamber. When they got to the door he tried to open it, but it would not respond. He was just about to try his code again, but stopped and turned to Sam instead.

"What's the new code?"

"I'm not telling you until you tell me what's going on."

Gabriel made a noise of frustration and glared at her. Sam stood her ground. Seeing that she meant her threat Gabriel placed the stone of his hand device against the door. Sam yelped in surprise as the solid metal door violently exploded outward in a twist of metal. 

The First Prime on the far side of the door had been thrown against the wall in the blast and lay unconscious on the floor. Gabriel stepped forward, but his body seemed to give out on him and he fell to one knee. Sam automatically helped him back to his feet.

"Please don't make me do that again, it is extremely taxing."

"I...I've never seen a hand device do anything like that before."

"I told you before that Goa'uld can only tap into a fraction of the hand devices power."

Before leaving Gabriel leaned down and checked the First Prime. Satisfied that he would be okay he took Sam's wrist once again. When they approached the next door Sam peacefully punched the new code into the keypad. 

"If we're lucky the First Prime hasn't alerted the oth..."

Gabriel was cut off as a staff weapon blast sliced through the air.

"So much for being lucky." Sam muttered. 

Turning back around they ran towards another hallway. When they got to the next barrier it was already opening. She cursed under her breath, the Jaffa had figured out how to reprogram it more quickly than she thought they'd be able to. 

When they passed under the door Sam went to reprogram it once again. The sounds of the guards coming around the corner told her that she'd better do it ten times faster than the first time.

Once she got the door to close Gabriel pulled her away from the panel. Placing his hand device on the seam of the door he concentrated hard. Sam watched in amazement as the door began to melt under his hand. He only melted a small portion and when he was done it cooled solid, sealing it shut.

Sam waited for Gabriel to catch his breath. These extra tricks that the hand device could do clearly took a great deal of concentration and energy. Once he'd recovered a bit Gabriel went to guide Sam to the left but she pulled to the right. They stopped as each tried to take the other in a different direction.

"Sam the rings down to the hanger at this way."

"The hanger will be more heavily guarded than anywhere else by now."

"I take you you've come up with 'Plan C'?" Gabriel asked as they started down the right corridor at a brisk pace.

"That I have, but we need to get to the Hyperdrive Crystals."

"We are a long way from Earth, Sam, it would take years to get there."

"We don't have to. We just have to get back to the planet that Anshar took me from."

"And from there we can use the ship's Stargate using the planet's point of origin." Gabriel smiled. 

"Or ring down to the planet itself."

"Either way, sounds like a good plan."

Running down less used hallways and ducking into alcoves at times they managed to keep themselves hidden from the Jaffa that were hunting them. Sam was just beginning to think that their luck was looking up when the characteristic sound of the Jaffa's boots echoed down from the corridor in front of them.

They were in a spot with no place to hide and the only option was to run back the way they'd come. The Jaffa caught sight of them and the air was once again filled with bright weapon's fire. Sam ran blindly until her lungs burned with effort.

They easily out paced the Jaffa, however, when it came to deciding to go left or right they were forced to the left by the simple fact that they had already sealed the door to the right. This brought them into one of the main hallways that held nothing in the way of cover. 

They had just rounded the corner at the far end of the main corridor when Gabriel suddenly crashed to the marble floor. Sam skidded to a halt and rush back to him. Gabriel was not even attempting to get back to his feet. She knelt down next to him as he rolled over onto his back. Fighting for breath he clawed at the hard floor. Sam noticed with alarm that Gabriel's lips had taken on a cyanic pallor. 

"Gabriel, get up, come on. I'll help you." 

"Just go, Sam!" Gabriel cried. 

"I'm not leaving you behind."

"Pleas..."

Gabriel was cut off as he convulsed with a cry of pain. Sam didn't know what was wrong and the sounds of the approaching Jaffa were getting louder as they ran down the main corridor they have just turned away from. 

Making a split second decision Sam put her hands under Gabriel's shoulder blades and practically forced him to his feet. She slipped under his arm and they hobbled through the nearest door. Finding themselves in a storage room Sam helped Gabriel behind some large boxed near the far wall.

It had taken the last of his strength to get that far and he collapsed once again. Sam slipped behind the boxes as well. Sitting down she placed Gabriel's head in her lap so that there would be room for them both to hide in the small space between the boxes and the wall.

"Sam...you left the door unlocked..." Gabriel panted quietly. 

"I know, just keep quiet."

Now that she had decided to hide Sam knew that she had trapped them both if it didn't work. She weld her eyes shut as the Jaffa finally made it to the end of the hall. She held her breath as the door to their hiding place slid open.

"This one opens." The Jaffa said sternly.

"They must be up ahead." The Prime growled. 

When the door slid shut again Sam could no longer deprive her oxygen starved lungs of air. She panted as quietly as she could until the burning subsided. Meanwhile Gabriel was gritting his teeth to keep from screaming. 

Sam didn't know what to do, she didn't even know what was wrong. His muscles strained and relaxed as the unknown aliment wracked his system. She brushed away the tear that slipped from the corner of his eye. Gabriel looked up at Sam and forced a brave smile.

"Sam..."

"Gabriel?"

Gabriel struggled to keep his eyes open, however he quickly lost the fight. Pressing her fingertips against his throat Sam found his pulse strong but erratic. Assuming he could heal himself she decided there was nothing she could do other than wait.

Exhausted from the day's ordeal Sam leaned back against the wall. Without even realizing what she was doing she smoothed out Gabriel's sweat drenched hair as though trying to comfort a fevering child. He slept so deeply that the slow rise and fall of his chest was his only motion.

As soon as the sounds of the Jaffa faded Sam joined him in a dreamless sleep. 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"Okay, Teal'c, it's story time."

"I do not understand." Teal'c growled.

Teal'c was still in the infirmary, and he was growing increasingly testy and restless about that fact. Jack and Daniel shared his desire to do more to get Sam back, but there was simply nothing that random Gate hopping could solve at the moment.

"Jack just wants you to tell us about Anshar." Daniel clarified. "You said he was an exile?"

"Yes." Teal'c confirmed. "The System Lords did not approve of his tactics."

"Teal'c of all the odd things you have said over the years, that has to be hands down the oddest." Jack commented. "How could a gang of god-impersonating, murdering, world destroying, slavers possibly exile one of their own on 'moral grounds'?"

"It was not how Anshar treated humans and Jaffa that lead to his exile. It was his interactions with other Goa'uld." Teal'c replied. "He did not participate in open war fare, instead he invented ways of dealing with the other System Lords single handedly."

"He was an assassin?" Daniel asked.

"That would be an appropriate term."

"Goa'uld knock each other off all the time," Jack interjected "why did they have such a problem with Anshar."

"There is an unwritten Code among the Goa'uld that is difficult to explain. However, one of the first rules is that if one System Lord is to challenge another he is to do so with a show of force, not cunning."

"A gentleman's agreement." Daniel noted.

"I do not know what that means."

"It is an informal agreement between two parties. Each side must rely on the honour of the other to uphold it."

"Yes, it is very much like that."

"So why exile the guy?" Jack asked. "Why not just band together and kill him...in a morally acceptable way."

"That I do not know. However he is one of the eldest of the Gou'ald, perhaps it was out of respect."

"Or fear." Daniel added.

"Fear?"

"Gabriel was able to convince the Goa'uld that if they killed him they would all lose their genetic memory, if Anshar is truly one of the oldest Goa'uld he may have set up a similar safe guard."

"Gabriel, eh? There's a name I haven't heard in a long time." Jack mused. "How's he doing with what's-her-face?"

"Rea'beka. I don't know, after we got Idlewyld back on its feet I've never thought to contact him and he has returned the favour."

"Fair enough," Jack shrugged "I never really liked that guy anyway."

"Teal'c, what would be the penalty for impersonating a First Prime?" Daniel asked to change the subject.

"Death a hundred times over."

"You mean that literally, don't you?" Jack asked.

"Indeed."

"So Ez'ri must have been working with him."

"What makes you leap to that conclusion, Daniel?" Jack asked.

"Because the only way she could fool the rest of the Jaffa into believing he was their Prime would be if she appointed him."

"I do not believe that Mila/Ez'ri knew this Jaffa." Teal'c said.

"Why not?"

"There would be no reason to appoint him Prime, even under false pretense, and then fake the Seal. They would have simply gone through the ritual in private the gold would have covered the ink."

"Teal'c has a point." Jack agreed. "I'm thinking the whole First Prime spy thing was a last minute deal."

"And we just happened to be there at the wrong time?" Daniel asked skeptically.

"No, I think the Tok'ra were trying to kill two birds with one stone."

"Jack..." Daniel admonished.

"Think about it, if Mila/Ez'ri had turned they could use a rival Gou'ald to get rid of her if we failed, and if she was still Tok'ra we would have been their to work with her and knock off yet another Goa'uld for them."

"Jack, you have got to stop this speculation. It's dangerous and it worse yet what you're saying doesn't make any sense."

"It doesn't?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"It...it just doesn't."

"Daniel..."

"I'm going to see what else I can find out about this Anshar."

Daniel didn't leave time for any response. He turned and left the infirmary as though he had just recalled an important meeting that he was late for. Jack stared thoughtfully at the swinging infirmary door after he'd left.

"General O'Neill?"

"What exactly happened at the Gate, Teal'c?"

"I do not recall." Teal'c replied honestly. "Did Daniel Jackson not explain the events?"

"Yeah, but I get the feeling that I'm not getting the whole picture with him."

"You believe Daniel Jackson would lie?"

"I didn't say he was lying...I just think he's hiding something."

"He would not withhold any information that would help bring Colonel Carter back."

"I know that, Teal'c." Jack sighed. "Experience is just telling me that more is going on than meets the eye."

"And you believe that he does not trust you enough to tell you?" 

"Worse, I think he doesn't trust himself anymore."

"I may not remember what happened, but I can say with certainly that Daniel Jackson would not have intentionally left Colonel Carter behind."

"I don't think it has anything to do with Cater, I think it has to do with Mila."

"What became of her?"

"Daniel shot her, he thought she was a Gou'ald."

"And you believe she may have been Tok'ra after all?"

"Personally I don't care."

"Then what is the problem?"

"I can't let Daniel back to off world duty if I think he's going to hesitate the next time he needs to defend himself."

"Then he should have never been allowed off world."

"What?"

"He has always hesitated to use lethal force."

"And you'll note that he gets himself killed more often than any of us."

"General O'Neill, what are you saying?"

"I just want this war to be over, Teal'c." Jack sighed. "Before the costs get too high."

"The war will not end until every Goa'uld is dead."

"Then maybe we should start thinking about teaming up with this Anshar fellow and starting a little assassination program of our own."

"You do not mean that."

"Yes I do."


	9. Chapter 9

NOTE: I had to write most of this chapter standing up so that I could pull all this 'Hyperdrive' stuff out of my ass. I know nothing about how this sort of thing is supposed to work on the show so I just made it up as I went along so that it fit with my plans. Since this is science fiction not science fact I exspect you all to just roll with it. Heehee.

Rewired

Chapter Nine

Sam woke with a start, but without the disorientation that she had suffered from before. She had fallen asleep sitting up against the wall, but was now curled up on the floor. Sitting up she peeked out around the boxes in search of Gabriel.

Gabriel was on the far side of the storage room kneeling on the floor with his arms wrapped tightly over his stomach. He was forcing himself to take deep breaths through clenched teeth, working hard not to make any noise.

Sam watched as he fought to overcome some unknown pain. Slowly his straining muscles began to relax. He took his hands away from his stomach and pulled them through his long bi-coloured hair. He was panting, but breathing easier than he had been a few moments ago. 

"Gabriel?"

Gabriel snapped open emerald eyes with a sharp gasp. With the speed of a Vel'na he snatch up a small black case that was on the floor next to him and shoved it into one of the inner pockets of his silk jacket. He rubbed the back of hand across his cheeks to remove the tears. Looking over at Sam he forced an unconvincing smile.

"I'm fine, it's nothing...really." Gabriel replied without being asked. "Did you sleep well?"

"Gabriel, what's happening to you?" Sam asked as she got up from her hiding place.

"Nothing a little rest can't fix." Gabriel smiled once more. "Of course we really don't have time for that, do we?"

"Ga..."

"There should be a ring transporter near here, we can take it down to the Hyperdrive level. This is a very large ship with a relatively small Jaffa population. If you've got any 'luck' left I'd suggest you use it now to get us down there undetected. Let's go."

Gabriel didn't leave any time for a response. Despite his recent condition he seemed to have no trouble getting to his feet. He walked up to Sam and took her hand. Sam wasn't used to being lead around like this, but under the circumstances she decided to accept it. 

The door seemed to make an ungodly amount of noise as it slid open. Cautiously looking out into the hall they found it blessedly empty. They trotted down the hall a few doors until they came to the transport room. Gabriel hesitantly stepped into the ring pattern on the floor bringing Sam with him.

"I hate these things." Gabriel muttered.

"Really? Why?"

"I don't like things that I don't understand."

"Don't understand? Isn't this Niacine technology?"

"No." Gabriel shook his head. "Most of this ship's technology has been stolen from some civilization after the Niacines. We didn't have much need for ships, so we never put too much effort into them."

"Do you know how the Hyperdrive works?" Sam asked.

"No clue." Gabriel admitted. "Which is why I didn't ask you to stay hidden."

Sam was about to tell Gabriel in no uncertain terms that she could take care of herself when he activated the rings. She had to admit that she wasn't fond of the StarTrek-esk beaming of the rings, but it was better than walking at the moment. 

When the rings brought them down to the lower level they found themselves with some company. Before the lone Jaffa guard could figure out if they were friend or foe Sam lifted up her hand device and knocked him violently against the wall. He left a thick smear of blood on the wall as he slid to the floor.

"Remind me to stay on your good side." Gabriel noted. "You're getting better with that thing."

"I still miss my gun." 

"And I still say it's a inefficient weapon."

"It's kept me alive for years."

"Hard to argue with that." Gabriel chuckled.

Stepping out of the ring room their luck held and they didn't encounter any more Jaffa on their way to the Hyperdrive control. Sam had feared that the room would be heavily guarded, but apparently most of the crew was busy searching the ship for them. 

The Crystal Room was enormous, with a multitude of metal columns stretching from the floor to the vaulted ceiling. In the center of the room was the Maindrive that held the Crystals for the bulk of the ship's power and the Hyperdrive. With Gabriel's help Sam pulled the metal access panel off and exposed the multi coloured Crystals. 

Sam took off her hand device to allow her to work more easily. Gabriel watched with fascination as she rearranged the coloured stones. He didn't ask any questions and made sure to keep out of the way. Sam worked with the Crystals for about half an hour before stepping back.

"Okay, that should head us back towards PX4-927."

"That's fascinating, I didn't even feel a change in momentum."

"That's because Hyperspace isn't subject to the normal rules of physics."

"Ah, yes, well rules were made to be broken."

"Not so much broken, as bent." Sam smiled. "It was a little more dangerous to alter the Hyperspace Directional Field without coming to a stop first, but this way the Jaffa won't know we've turned around and so they hopefully won't look for us here."

"Brilliant." Gabriel beamed.

"Yeah, well, it's not a perfect plan. We have no real way of knowing when we're actually there."

"Are we going the same speed as before?"

"No, I'm pushing it about five times as fast. Anshar didn't have this bird anywhere near top speed."

"He was in no hurry to get to Ba'al." Gabriel growled. "Anyway, that means it will take about a fifth of the time, we'll just stop the ship then. In about six hours."

"That's no guarantee that we'll be above the planet."

"We don't have to get it exact. The Gate can make the adjustments, within a few billion miles."

"Really?" Sam asked shocked.

"It will take a little tinkering, and trial and error, but I can do it."

"The same way that we had to adjust for the shift before we could get anywhere other than Abydos."

"Exactly." Gabriel nodded.

"Then I guess there is nothing to do now but wait."

"If you don't mind keeping an eye on the time I really could use some rest."

Sam had been hoping to finally get some answers out of Gabriel, however he did truly look weary and she found herself nodding. He gave her a very Jaffa-like bow and retreated to the side wall. He laid down on the hard floor on his side and tried to make himself comfortable.

After a moment of indecision Sam walked over and joined him. Gabriel looked up at her in shock when she sat down and offered him her lap as a pillow. He hesitantly accepted the offer like an outdoor dog being allowed into the house for the first time. 

"Thank you."

"It's the least I can do." Sam replied with a sad smile. "I never did get a chance to thank you for saving me from what amounts to a fate worse than death around here."

"I should have helped you the moment you stepped foot on this wretched ship."

"Why didn't you?"

"I guess I was just being a coward."

"I find that hard to believe."

Gabriel didn't respond. He just took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Sam looked at the white streak in his hair and wondered what could have caused it. Something was telling her that it wasn't something his host had possessed before. 

"Gabriel?"

"Yes?"

"Will you at least tell me what happened to Rea'beka?"

Gabriel didn't respond right away. Sam could feel him tense at the mention of her name. However eventually he sighed and relaxed again.

"She wasn't happy." He said quietly.

"With you?"

"Partly, but mostly with Idlewyld. It is difficult living in a dead city. Very little of the population survived, and the people who live there are simple folk. And the memories locked in that place started to prove too much for either of us to bear."

"Why didn't you leave together?"

"Because without Idlewyld I really didn't belong in her life. She...she had a family."

"What?"

"A husband and a young son that she had left behind. When she learned from me that her homeworld was most likely unaffected by the 'Plague' she desperately wished to return. I couldn't blame her, and I had no right to stop her."

"So who is this new host?"

"Sam, please, I am very tired, and if we have to fight out way out of here I will need all my strength."

Sam couldn't find the words to argue with Gabriel. Nor did he seem to be lying about his condition, for in seconds his breathing slowed in sleep. Sam sighed and looked around the empty Crystal room, hoping it would stay that way. 

A few hours past uneventfully. Sam found herself playing with Gabriel's long hair out of sheer boredom. She stopped when he suddenly rolled over onto his back. The silk jacket he wore fell open, revealing the small leather case that he carried. 

An hour went by before Sam worked up the courage to become a pick pocket. Carefully lifting the case out of its place Sam stayed motionless to see if Gabriel would wake. He remained locked in an almost coma like state. 

Sam opened the case slowly. She had actually thought that some of Daniel might have rubbed off on him and that it might be a journal of some sort. However, even though she knew that this was Gabriel, not Daniel, the contents of the case still took her by surprise.

On one side it contained six small glass vials, held into place by specially made pockets. She pulled one out and inspected the bright green fluid that it held. It had a slight phosphorescent glow to it. Curiosity made her want to make her pull the rubber stopper off, however common sense won out.

Replacing the vial she moved the flap of cloth that protected the other side of the open case. Her breath hissed sharply across her teeth at the sight of the glass and silver syringe. 

"You weren't injured," Sam whispered "you were suffering some sort of withdrawal."

Not knowing what else to do she closed the case and replaced it in Gabriel's pocket. As much as she hated to admit it she couldn't get out of this on her own. She still needed his help and his protection. There was no sense in confronting him about this now. 

The same luck that had helped them reach the Hyperdrive in the first place lasted several more hours and it was finally time to stop the ship and try to make it to, and through, the Stargate. She made mental note to tell Gabriel that they would have to jump to the Alpha site in order to avoid being flattened by the Iris. 

"Sam?" Gabriel asked sleepily as she woke him.

"It's time to try and stop this thing."

"Try?"

Sam chuckled. She actually had full confidence in her ability to stop the ship. The Stargate was going to be the hardest part of their plan. It seemed statically unlikely that they were close enough to the planet to ring down, so they would have to take the alternate route.

While Sam walked over to the main power Crystals Gabriel sat up and started to work the kinks out of his neck. Stopping the massive ship didn't take nearly as long as turning it around. Sam slid the last Crystal into place, shifting colour of the main Crystal.

"Okay, Gabriel, that shou..."

Sam was cut off with a sharp cry as a Zat blast caught her in the back. Her hand had still been resting on the main power Crystal which cracked violently and threw her back to the floor. The ship was momentarily plunged into darkness until the low lights of the auxiliary systems flickered on.

"Sam!" 

Gabriel scrambled to his feet. When the Jaffa entered the room Gabriel knocked him back with enough force in the hand device pulse to kill him instantly. Four more stepped into the room and Gabriel didn't hesitate to kill them as well. The cost of his actions were instantly evident as he stumbled and fell to his knees. He snarled in frustration at this weakness.

He could hear others in the hall, but now they hesitated to approach. Forcing himself back to his feet he commanded the door to close and lock. He rushed to Sam's side and knelt beside her. She lay sprawled out on the floor, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. 

Terrified by her stillness Gabriel pressed his fingertips against her throat and found her pulse to be racing, but strong. He put his hand on her chest and felt its soft rise and fall. Relieved that she appeared to be at least in stable condition he brushed the small trail of blood away from her lips. 

Outside the door the Jaffa were making a large amount of noise as more of them arrived. He looked at the closed door as they began to break through and sighed heavily.  
Seemingly unconcerned Gabriel turned back to Sam and gently smoothed out her hair. He leaned down and kissed her brow as if she was only sleeping peacefully.

"You're going to be alright, Samantha, and when you wake up you'll be home...I promise."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter ten

Jack looked up from his desk where he had been pretending to read a report. Daniel had just stepped into his office looking like he hadn't slept in days. Which was appropriate, since he basically hadn't. He took a few steps into the room and stopped.

"Well?" Daniel asked.

"Well what?"

"You're the one who called me up here. What do you want?"

"To say 'Hi'?" Jack offered.

Daniel returned Jack's lighthearted remark with a cold stare. Jack pushed the papers on his desk away and settled into a more serious expression as well.

"Daniel, I need to know what happened on that planet."

"I already told you."

"You gave me the Cliff's Notes version, I need more detail."

"I already told you, the details are fuzzy." Daniel insisted. "It was more than a little chaotic."

"I understand that. But something is eating away at you, more than usual, and I can't trust you to be here if you won't tell me what it is."

Daniel took a breath to respond.

"And don't bother pretending that it's only about Carter, there's something more."

Anger flashed across Daniel's features for a moment. It always fascinated Jack to watch Daniel attempt to lie. He was so terrible at it that under any other circumstance Jack would find it amusing. Before he even said a word Daniel seemed to realize his own inabilities. He sat down in the chair in front of Jack's desk with a resigned look

"Am I that transparent?" Daniel sighed.

"Like a piece of crystal."

Daniel pulled his glasses off and just stared vacantly stared off into space for a moment. Jack waited patiently for Daniel to figure out what he was going to say, realizing that sometimes the truth was harder to put into words than lies. 

"When we got to the Gate Mila and Ez'ri were already there. I had told you that at first I thought they just wanted to come with us, and that was true, but it didn't take more than a second of looking at them to realize something was wrong with them. They were fighting."

"Fighting?" Jack asked when Daniel didn't continue.

"For control." Daniel explained quietly. "Her expression kept shifting from terror to rage."

"That would make sense if Ez'ri was a Goa'uld and Mila had found a way to break through."

"That's the part that didn't make sense...it seemed for all the world that it was Ez'ri who was terrified of Mila. It was Ez'ri's reverberating voice that cried out to me for help."

"That could have been a trick." Jack pointed out.

"That's exactly what I thought...clearly I was wrong. If Ez'ri was Goa'uld they would not have left her behind."

Daniel stopped and rubbed at his temples, fighting off a headache that had plagued him for days. Jack waited once more for Daniel to continue. 

"I didn't know what else to do, Jack." Daniel admitted. "She was between me and the DHD, Teal'c was dying, Sam was almost out of rounds, we were grievously out numbered...when she started to lift her hand device I shot her." 

Daniel closed his eyes and shook his head sadly, replaying the scene for the thousandth time. Every time he relived it Mila/Ez'ri looked like she was less and less of a threat, and that he brutally murdered an innocent woman out of fear.

"It happened so fast that it never even occurred to me to simply wound her..." Daniel stopped with a nervous chuckle. "If...if you had asked me a week ago if I could shoot someone through the heart at twenty feet I would have honestly told you that I'm not that good a shot. But I did it, I did it without even thinking about it."

"Daniel, any good soldier would have made that decision."

"I'm not a soldier, Jack, I'm just an archeologist."

"You stopped being 'just an archeologist' a long time ago, Daniel." Jack said honestly. "You did the right thing."

Daniel forced a sad smile. Jack did the same and got to his feet. Coming around the desk he put his hand on Daniel's shoulder. Daniel smiled again, but this time it was genuine.

"Come on," Jack said conversationally "let's go down to the mess. I don't know about you, but I desperately need some coffee."

"Sounds go..." Daniel was cut off as the Base alarms for an unscheduled activation rang out.

"On second thought I hear the Gateroom is nice this time of year."

Jack trudged out towards the Control room with Daniel close behind. They watched the iris sliding shut while the flight on duty scrambled into the Gateroom and took up defensive positions. 

"Who's out there?" Jack asked the technician.

"SG-3, 4, and 8. None of them are due back for at least twenty-four hours."

"Get medical down here."

"Yes, Sir...wait something's coming through...Ohmygod, close the blast do..."

Jack and Daniel both instinctively dropped to their hands and knees as the glass windows of the Control room shattered violently. There was a deafening sound of twisting, tortured metal as the shower of glass rained down on them. 

Shaking the glass off Jack and Daniel stood back up and for a moment they just stared into the Gateroom. The camera shutter-like iris had been violently blown outward. The twisted pieces of metal were still attached to the Gate giving it the look of a work of modern art. An open worm hole shimmered in place.

"That can't be good." Daniel pointed out needlessly.

"Holy shi..."

"Sir! Incoming travelers!" 

"That really can't be good." Daniel repeated.

Jack was off and running down the stairs. The men in the Gateroom were struggling to get to their feet to defend the now open wormhole. Jack grabbed a sidearm from one of them and stood defiantly at the base of the ramp. Daniel caught up with him and stood at his side. He hadn't bothered to retrieve a weapon.

"Jack, are we planning to try and hold off whoever just blew the iris apart with a gun?"

"Unless you've got a better plan." Jack growled.

"No, I was just making sure we were on the same page."

Every thing seemed eerily still as they waited for their guest to arrive. Daniel and Jack both gasped in shock when two figured appeared through the pool of light. A man with long black hair with a white streak through it stepped out onto the ramp. Jack noticed the gold hand device he wore and adjusted his aim to the strangers head. 

He held Sam in his arms as though posing for the cover of a harlequin romance novel. Blood dripped from his temple, and sweat rolled off his skin. As for Sam it was hard to tell if she was just unconscious or actually dead. 

"Put her down!" Jack ordered.

"If I do are you going to shoot me?" He asked in a deep echoing voice.

"I might."

"Then maybe I'll just hold on to her until we all calm down." 

"Anshar, you must have some seriously lar..."

"I do not have time for this!" The Goa'uld roared. "You will do exactly as I say! I am going to give you an Address to dial, you will do so, when the Gate is opened I will put her down and leave, you will not follow me."

"And if we say 'no'?"

"I will kill her." He growled dangerously. 

Jack and the Goa'uld glared at one another for a moment. Daniel furrowed his brow and took a step closer.

"Stop!" The Goa'uld barked. "Do we have a deal?"

"No." Daniel said firmly.

"Daniel?" Jack asked. "What are you doing?"

Daniel didn't respond, he just walked fearlessly up the ramp towards the pair. Jack remained ready to shoot if he had too. The Goa'uld bared his teeth at Daniel and took a step back. 

"I'll kill her..."

"No you won't."

"Dial this Gate!" He cried. "Just let me go!"

"You're not going anywhere."

"He's right," Jack added "put her down, Ansha..."

"It's not Anshar." Daniel interrupted. "He's..."

Daniel stopped as the Goa'uld gasped sharply. All of the colour suddenly drained from his face and with a look of terrified defeat he offered Sam to Daniel. Daniel rushed up and took her away from him. Fighting for breath the Goa'uld sank to his knees with his hand pressed hard against his heart.

"I...I should have known you'd recognize me." He panted in his human voice. "Please, let me go..."

"No." 

Daniel held Sam closer and glared spitefully at the pitiful creature at his feet. The Gou'ald cried out in pain, but it seemed to have no affect on his audience. Starting to loose his grip on consciousness he laid down on the metal ramp. 

"I...I didn't hurt her...I swear. I would ne..." 

He was cut off as his emerald eyes rolled back to white. Jack had been slowly making his way up the ramp and now stood with the others. He reached out and checked Sam's pulse, finding it strong. 

"Daniel?" Jack asked.

Daniel didn't respond. He just stared down at the creature sleeping fitfully on the ramp. Jack looked down at him as well, trying to figure out what had just happened. 

"Daniel, who is this?" Jack demanded.

"Gabriel."

"Gabriel? How do you know that?"

"I just do."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Daniel stepped into the featureless room that they were holding Gabriel in. He had no interest in interacting with Gabriel, but the Goa'uld was refusing to speak to anyone else. 

Gabriel was sitting cross-legged in the corner with his eyes closed. A thin Naquadah based chain had been secured around his waist and from there a pair of two foot chains connected to his wrists, limiting his range of motion. He took slow, deep breaths as though he was mediating. 

Daniel didn't announce his presence, he knew that he didn't have to. The Naquadah that Gabriel had left in his blood was practically singing. After a moment Gabriel opened his eyes and smiled.

"Nice to see you again, Daniel."

"The feeling is not mutual, Gabriel."

"I can see that." Gabriel sighed and looked down at his restraints. "I thought we were friends."

"That was before you stepped through our Gate with Sam half dead."

"No, I stepped through your Gate with her half alive."

"Why did you take her?"

"I didn't." Gabriel replied. "Why did you leave her behind?"

"I didn't."

"Well then, looks to me like neither one of us is to blame for what happened."

Daniel grit his teeth in frustration. He wasn't even sure he wanted to know what Gabriel had been doing. By letting him go in the first place Daniel now felt responsible for his every action.

"Daniel, I've done nothing wrong." Gabriel stated, having read Daniel's thoughts as easily as he would have read a book. 

"What about Rea'beka? You left her."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was under host-arrest." Gabriel replied.

"It was understood that you would stay with her on Idlewyld."

"What right do you have to tell me where to go, or who to be with?" Gabriel hissed. "I have commited no crimes against you, release me."

"No. Not without some answers."

"I am not your property, and you have no right to make me your prisoner!" Gabriel cried. "Now let me go!"

Gabriel and Daniel stared each other down, neither one of them willing to back down. They could have been locked in silence for hours if Gabriel hadn't suddenly doubled over. He wrapped his arms over his stomach and growled in pain. 

Daniel made no move to help him, not believing the act for a second. Gabriel closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing for a moment. When he looked up again he had lost the anger in his emerald eyes, in its place lay a desperate fear.

"Daniel please, I realize that you think that everything that has ever gone wrong in your life can be traced back to me...but you can't blame a father for the sins of his children. If you keep me here, I'm going to die."

"I want to speak to your host now." Daniel growled.

"Da..."

"If you are as innocent as you claim then you must have some agreement with this host. I want to talk to him. More than that, I want you out of him so that I know it's not just a trick."

"I...I can't leave him."

"Then I have nothing more to say to you, and no reason to ever let you out of this room."

Anger flashed across Gabriel's features. Daniel watched icily as Gabriel winced in pain again, he leaned forward to rub his hand against his chest. When Gabriel made no move to leave his host Daniel turned to leave. 

"Daniel, wait." Gabriel called. "You can't speak to him because he's...he's not here."

Daniel stopped and turned back around. "What exactly do you mean by 'not here'?"

"He's dead." Gabriel sighed. 

"Dead?"

Gabriel nodded. He tried to rake his hands through his hair but the chains on his wrists prevented it. He closed his eyes and sighed in defeat. Daniel's cold expression thawed somewhat as he knit his brow in confusion. 

"I don't understand." Daniel admitted. "How can he be dead, why didn't you making a host out of him bring him back?"

"There is a time limit on resurrecting a soul into a body." Gabriel explained morosely. "I...I allowed that time to expire, kept the body preserved, and then I reanimated it."

"With a sarcophagus?"

"No. I did it myself, you can't imagine what I went through to repair the decay. The stress of it is what gave me this streak in my hair. I didn't dare to use any healing devices in the process. Even now I must avoid the sarcophagus at all costs."

"Why?"

"I am unsure of what would happen if I used one. Right now I keep the brain of this host running just enough to help me with the most primative of functions, like breathing and heart rate, but nothing more. If it was fully reanimated without the soul it originally housed there is a chance that this body would become an uncontrollable monster, knowing nothing more than violent instinct."

"You're already a monster." Daniel hissed. "How can you just take someone's flesh like this? How do you know that original owner isn't still trapped in there?"

"I knew you wouldn't understand." Gabriel sighed. "Please believe me, I am alone in here...it's terrifying."

"Terrifying?" Daniel repeated skeptically.

"This body requires constant maintenance and repair. Every time I sleep I risk death, and every time I over tax myself I am wracked with unbearable pain as the tissues degrade faster than I can repair them."

"That's what happened to you in the Gateroom."

"It's what is happening to me right now." Gabriel whimpered. "Daniel, look at me...I'm dying. Please if you won't let me go, at least return my serum to me."

"Serum? The green fluid you were carrying..."

"Yes, please, Daniel, I must have that case back." Gabriel begged. "Most of the decay I can repair myself. However, the one tissue that I can't seem to gain control of is my blood. If I don't have that serum it begins to coagulate and stick in my veins. It is a slow and agonizing process. I can control the pain if I do nothing but concentrate on doing so...but I am loosing the fight. Even just talking to you is taxing."

"Jack says that all the time." 

Gabriel smiled, hoping that Daniel would do the same. Daniel did not smile, however, his expression did soften. Gabriel began to struggle harder for breath as he continued to lose strength. He didn't attempt to hide his distress. He could see Daniel's compassion for all creatures fighting to overcome his deep seeded hatred of Goa'uld and his mistrust of Gabriel himself.

"Please, it's getting worse. Help me."

"How...how do I know that this isn't just a trick? Or even common withdrawal? Dr. Brightman believes your 'serum' to be nothing more than an addictive drug, possibly even what gave you the strength to destroy the iris."

"It is a drug, but it is only a medicine. Just like the Tretonin that Teal'c must have to survive...or the cocktail of anti-depressants that you use to get you through the day."

Gabriel knew even before he had said it that his last words were the wrong thing to say. Any ground he had been making with Daniel was instantly lost. Gabriel bowed his head, panting heavily to keep from crying out as his blood started to thicken. His nerves were singing out warnings as the oxygen levels in his system began to drop.

"Daniel...trust me..."

"First I want to know what is going on." Daniel said firmly. "What happened to Sam, what your connection is with Ansha..."

"I can't...I can't believe that you of all people would torture me for information."

"I am not torturing you..."

"You may not be causing my suffering, but you are allowing it to continue!"

"Gab..."

"No! No, I will not be treated like this!" Gabriel cried angrily. "I will answer no questions unless you release me from this pain."

"You can release yourself at anytime by leaving your host." Daniel replied icily.

"I will have nowhere to go!"

"We will take you to the Tok'ra, find you a more willing host."

"You don't believe me...you think this host is hurting me, and that the serum is to stop him."

"That is exactly what I think."

"Are you ever wrong?"

Daniel said nothing. The argument had sapped Gabriel of what little strength he had left. He fought to control his trembling, but it was a useless effort. Gabriel looked up at Daniel and noticed that he had stepped closer. Despite the haze of pain the look of indecision in his eyes made Gabriel smile.

"Daniel, please. I saved Sam's life...the least you can do is spare mine."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Jack sat on the infirmary bed next to the one where Sam still slept. It had been two days since the chaotic scene in the Gateroom. Although her vital signs were all stable Sam stayed locked in a state somewhere between coma and sleep. 

She looked terrifyingly peaceful, as though she barely had the will for the next breath. Jack looked a few more bed over to where Teal'c was sleeping under the influence of morphine.

Closing his eyes Jack tried to will his headache away. The sixth sense that told him when people were near suddenly tingled. He opened one eye and glanced over at the door way. He was no longer alone, but the new arrival didn't look like he had any good news so he tried to ignore him.

"Sir?" The intruder asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Airman?"

"The Goa'uld is awake."

"I'll be there in a moment."

"He insists that he will only talk to Dr. Jackson."

"Fine." Jack growled. "Go find Daniel and let him deal with it." 

"Yes, Sir."

"Goddamn, Snake." Jack muttered as the Airman left. "I should have shot him when I had the chance...a year ago."

Jack was snapped out of his dark thoughts when Sam gasped violently. Jack leapt to his feet and watched her anxiously. She dug her fingers into the bed sheets and gripped them till her knuckles turned white. The heart monitor that had been beeping calmly started to sound more frantic.

"Doc!" Jack called.

Dr. Brightman came hustling in from the next room. She surveyed the situation with a trained eye. She placed her hand on Sam's forehead, noticing that she was sweating but without fever. She peeled back one of Sam's eyelids and quickly flashed her penlight across her face. Satisfied she took a step back.

"She's just having a nightmare."

"A nightmare?" Jack repeated with concern.

"It's actually a good sign, Sir."

"It is?"

"Yes," Dr. Brightman assured "it shows an increase in brain activity."

"So she's going to be alright?"

Jack didn't like the way Dr. Brightman hesitated. As a medical professional and an Air force Medic it was her job to never sugar coat anything, no matter how much she wanted to. It was times like this that the doctor tended to fall silent.

"Doc?"

"I am confident that she will wake..." Dr. Brightman stopped.

"However...?"

"However," Dr. Brightman sighed "there is no telling how long it will take or what her mental condition is going to be when she does."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, she's obviously suffered something more severe than a simple zat blast and there is no way to know if there is any permanent brain damage. I'll have a better idea when she wakes on how extensive the damage is."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"There really isn't anything any of us can do." Dr. Brightman replied. "Except for maybe getting some sleep yourself."

Jack nodded sadly. Dr. Brightman forced a half hearted smile and once again excused herself from the room. Sam was breathing quick and shallow as the nightmare continued. When she whimpered from some phantom pain Jack reached down and gently brushed the back of his hand against her temple.

"Carter, it's alright." Jack said softly. "You're safe...you're home."

Sam didn't calm down completely, however, she began to take deeper breaths. Jack stayed at her side, the backs of his fingers barely touching the side of her face. He wasn't sure how much time passed, but eventually she settled back into a more peaceful state.

Jack took his hand away and looked around the room. The lights had automatically dimmed at some point as the artificial night fell. Exhausted Jack sat back down on the unoccupied infirmary bed. He had no intention of sleeping, but his body had other ideas. Planning to lay down just for a moment he instantly slipped into a dreamless sleep. 

"Gabriel?!"

Jack was on his feet before he even knew what had happened. Sam was laying on the bed with her back arched dangerously. Without even thinking Jack reached out and pushed down on her ribs to bring her down. 

Sam woke violently. She grabbed the wrist of the hand that was holding her down and dug her nails into the flesh. Jack released her and once free she fought with the sheets to sit up. With her eyes dilated in fright she backed herself up against the wall behind the bed. Jack took a step closer.

"Stay away from me!" Sam cried. "Gabriel!"

"Easy, Carter, I'm not going to hurt you, you know that."

Sam stared at Jack without seeming to recognize him. She knit her brow in confusion and started to look around the infirmary. When she spotted Teal'c sleeping a few beds away she seemed to relax a bit. Turning her attention back to Jack a look of relief washed over her.

"Sir?"

"Morning, Sunshine." Jack smiled.

Still looking a little unsure of herself she turned to look at Teal'c once more. She absent mindedly rubbed at the IV needle in the back of her hand as she turned a worried look back on Jack.

"Teal'c's going to be just fine."

"Daniel?"

"He's okay."

"Gabriel...he..."

"Let's not worry about him right now. How are you feeling?"

"I think I'm okay."

"What's the speed of light?" Jack asked suddenly.

"2.997 times 10 to the eighth meters per second." Sam answered instantly.

"That sounds...specific enough to be right." Jack nodded in approval. "How does an eon-flux generator work?"

"As far as I know no such thing exists."

"Really? Hmmm...I must have seen it on Star Trek."

"Sir, what is this about?"

"I'm just checking to see if you're alright."

"I'm fine...really."

Sam looked around again, checking to make sure that she was really back at the SGC. Jack shifted his weight and she jerked violently. He froze, not wanting to startle her again. Sam noticed and smiled.

"It's okay, Sir. I just need a second to get my bearings."

"Take all the time you need."

"Everything happened so fast...I'm just grateful to be back."

"And we're just as grateful to have you."

"Thanks, Sir." Sam chuckled weakly.

"If you...um...if you don't mind me asking, how did you end up getting caught? Daniel swears that you were right behind him."

"I was." Sam looked around as she flushed. "I...uh...I tripped."

"Tripped?"

"In the confusion and noise I didn't realize that Mila had been killed. In order to keep up cover fire I backed up towards the Gate. I fell over her and knocked myself out. I woke up on the ship."

"Well that's..." Jack searched for the right words "embarrassing."

Sam smiled shyly and nodded. Jack shifted again as Sam began to look more agitated. Her aqua eyes were brightened with tears that she was refusing to shed. For a moment she looked angry and then she shook her head.

"Carter?"

"If...if Gabriel hadn't been there..."

"I know, he saved your life."

"More than that," Sam stopped to take a shuddering breath "he saved my sanity. Anshar...he was...he was going to..."

"It's okay, Carter, we don't have to talk about this now, or ever if you don't want to."

"I...I'm sorry." Sam stuttered as she brushed away a tear that had managed to escape.

"For what?"

"I should be stronger."

Sam forced a heartbreaking smile as she tried desperately to hide how shaken she was. Jack just stared at her for a moment before deciding to press the limits of conduct and draw her into a comforting embrace. 

Sam hesitated to accept, however, when she could no longer fight her tears she found his shoulder to be a place where she could at least hide them. Still trying to control herself Sam gripped tightly to his shirt as though it could help her from being dragged away by the rip tied of unwanted emotion. 

Battling the acidic sting of tears himself Jack closed his eyes and held her protectively as she finally broke down and cried. Not knowing what else to do Jack rocked her gently. Unable to stop herself Sam wept bitterly, whimpering in humiliation of the uncharacteristic display. 

"It's alright, Carter...even steel has a breaking point."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Daniel stood like a statue watching Gabriel sleep peacefully on the floor. He had broken down and called for Dr. Brightman to administer what she felt would be a proper dose of the mysterious green serum. Gabriel had already been unconscious, but the change in his health had been noticeable instantly.

Gabriel suddenly rolled over onto his back and groaned. Daniel made no move to help him, he just continued to watch. Gabriel opened his emerald eyes slowly, blinking against the harsh florescent lighting. He looked surprised to have woken, but when he shifted his gaze to Daniel he smiled.

"Daniel...thank you."

Daniel shifted his weight uncomfortably. Gabriel sat up and took a deep breath, enjoying the ability to do so. When he was done he looked up at Daniel expectantly.

"I...uh...I owe you an apology." Daniel admitted. "I'm sorry. I honestly thought it was an act."

"What changed your mind?"

"Well...the seizure was fairly convincing, and Dr. Brightman had just finished some test results and swore that if she didn't know any better she'd say you were dead." Daniel forced a smile. "But mostly it was Sam."

"She's awake?" Gabriel asked hopefully.

"Not that I know of."

"Then ho..."

"I'm fairly certain that if I let you die she'd never speak to me again once she does wake."

"Not a risk you wanted to take?" Gabriel chuckled.

"Not really."

Gabriel chuckled softly, but his mirth quickly faded. He stared down at his restrained wrists and began to rub at them. After a moment he struggled to get to his feet. Once he had succeeded he turned a defiant expression on Daniel.

"So where do we go from here?" Gabriel asked. "I assume you're still not interested in letting me go."

"Not until you tell me what's going on."

Gabriel opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. He looked around the barren room, and rubbed once again at the chains around his wrists. He was still feeling weak. Returning his attention to Daniel he smiled sadly.

"Fine." Gabriel sighed in defeat. "First off I want you to know that I did not take Sam. I was just as horrified to find her as you were to lose her."

"Then who was it?"

"You did guess right, it was Anshar."

"Where is he now?"

"Locked in his sarcophagus on his mother ship, which is currently disabled."

"What were you doing on his ship?"

"I was trying to fix my greatest mistake."

"Your mistake?" Daniel repeated. "You mean the Goa'uld, you're trying to destroy them?"

"Is that so hard to believe?"

"So out of all the Goa'uld in the Galaxy, you just happened to be hiding on Anshar's ship, laying in wait to kill him? When Sam came along and ruined everything?"

"Not exactly. I've been working on Anshar's trust for months."

"Why?"

"To get me closer to Ba'al. He's really the main threat, you know that."

"Yeah." Daniel agreed dryly. "Although there seem to be more and more System Lords emerging every day."

"They are the ones who have been 'waiting in the wings' so to speak. The absents of competition breeds new System Lords, but they grow weaker every time the herd is culled."

"I don't know sometimes we think that Ba'al is actually the lesser of two evils and that his death would just allow the others to gain even more strength, form an Alliance long enough to destroy the Earth before dividing up the Galaxy amongst themselves."

"That is where you are wrong." Gabriel stated firmly. "Ba'al is by far the strongest. If he falls the others will simply turn on each other because each has the same chance of becoming the new top dog, and when the dust settles I will be there to slaughter whoever remains."

Gabriel ended his speech and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Daniel furrowed his brow in thought over all Gabriel had said. Matching Gabriel's closed body language Daniel straightened his back and crossed his arm as well.

"This doesn't sound like you, Gabriel."

"No?"

"No."

"Why not? You don't think I despise my Children for what they have done to this Galaxy? For driving the Nacines almost to extinction? For torturing me for years on end before leaving me imprisoned?"

"I don't doubt that you hate the Goa'uld." Daniel returned evenly. "However, you and I both know that millions of human Goa'uld slaves and Jaffa will die if there is open war. So I find it hard to believe that your goal is to simply murder Ba'al and start such a blood bath."

"Is that so?" Gabriel replied with a shrug. "Then what do you think I'm up to?"

"I haven't figured that part out yet."

"You never will because I've already told you the truth. As it is Anshar and I have a meeting with Ba'al in two weeks. I must be there."

"Seems to me that you and Anshar shouldn't still be on friendly terms after bringing Sam back."

"He doesn't know it was me...I can easily blame it on you."

"And I'm sure he'd believe it, but it's not going to happen. I'm not letting you go."

Gabriel curled his lip in frustrated rage. He pushed himself away from the wall and stepped up to Daniel. Holding his ground Daniel stared at him icily.

"What more do you want from me, Daniel?!" Gabriel spat.

With a speed that took Gabriel by surprise Daniel shoved him violently back into the wall. Gabriel yelped in shock as Daniel pinned him to the wall by the throat. Gabriel reached up to push Daniel away, but the metal restraints prevented him.

"Da..."

"I want to know what you did to Mila and Ez'ri!" Daniel roared. 

"Nothing!"

"I don't believe you!"

Gabriel gasped in pain as his heart began to race. He had not fully recovered from his brush with death and the adrenaline pouring into his system was once again starting to tear him apart. Daniel noticed the sweat beading at Gabriel's forehead, but at the moment he didn't care and pressed harder against Gabriel's throat.

"I...I couldn't stop what happened to them. I swear." Gabriel admitted. "Anshar, he did that to them...there was nothing I could do."

"What did he do?"

"Please, Daniel," Gabriel panted "you're hurting me."

Daniel grit his teeth together, fighting the urge to push Gabriel harder. Even though the chain kept him from forcing Daniel away he could still reach out far enough to place his hand on Daniel's chest. Daniel looked down in surprise, he could suddenly feel Gabriel's trembling. Looking back up he found Gabriel's emerald filled with fear.

Growling in frustration Daniel backed away. More delicate that usual Gabriel's throat was already bruising. Shocked by the damage he had caused Daniel instinctively stepped closer again. Trapped up against the wall Gabriel cowered from him like a beaten dog.

"I...I'm sor..." Daniel started.

"How much do you know about what is going on in the Tok'ra world?" Gabriel asked suddenly.

"Only what they tell us." Daniel admitted.

"Which I'm guessing isn't much."

"I know that they are starting to disappear."

"They're not disappearing, they're being murdered."

"By Anshar?"

"No...by each other."

"Why would the Tok'ra suddenly start turning on their own?"

"Because they don't know who to trust anymore. Anshar has found a way to basically bridge the gap between Tok'ra and Goa'uld. He's captured a few and then released them back into the Tok'ra ranks where they act like poison."

"He's started a witch hunt."

"Very successfully."

"Then we need to catch Anshar, discover which Tok'ra he's turned and try and help them."

"There is no help for them." Gabriel said firmly. 

"There must be, Mila and Ez'ri didn't want to kill me. They were trying to control themselves. Given time, I think they may have recovered."

"No. The results of Anshar's experiments are unstable, at best. What you witnessed with Mila and Ez'ri was their last throws before death. They only live long enough to wreck havoc, and then insanity takes them."

"So if Anshar doesn't continually capture others eventually these new 'Goa'uld' will simply die out."

"Yes." Gabriel nodded. "But Anshar's plans with the Tok'ra are not the real problem and are easily stopped. Please, Daniel, release me, let me go back. I will kill two birds with one stone."

"What?"

"I will betray Anshar to Ba'al, and then I will kill Ba'al. It will be the beginning of the end for the Gou'ald Race."

"W...why should I trust you?" Daniel asked weakly.

"When have I ever steered you wrong?"

Daniel didn't reply. He searched Gabriel's face for some clue as to whether or not his intentions were true. Daniel dragged his hands through his hair, a habit his muscles seemed to have picked up from their time answering to Gabriel's commands.

"I can not make this decision on my own." Daniel announced.

"But you already have."

"What?"

"You've already decided not to allow it."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I know you, Daniel. I know you better than you know yourself."

"Then you should have known not to come here." Daniel growled angrily.

"I did know." Gabriel smiled sadly. "But my only other choice was to stand by while we travled to Ba'al and watch Samantha be repeatedly tortured to death. It was a price I was not willing to pay."

"And yet you are willing to start a war that will doubtlessly slaughter millions of innocents. You're willing to pay that price?"

"Yes."

"Isn't that a bit hypocritical?"

"I never said I was perfect, Daniel."

"No, you never did say it, but you think it, you believe it." Daniel hissed.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because I know you, Gabriel. I know you better than you know yourself."

"Da..."

"And I know you're still hiding something from me."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

"Sir...this is ridiculous.."

"Carter?"

"Are the restraints really necessary?"

"Yes." Jack and Daniel answered in unison.

Sam made a noise of disgusted frustration and gave Gabriel a helpless look. He smiled brightly at her and just shrugged. They all stood in the Gateroom making the last preparations before stepping through to Anshar's ship. Currently they were waiting for the MALP to give them the 'All Clear'. 

They had let Gabriel change out of the white scrubs and into a pair of green fatigues and a black shirt so that he wouldn't be such an obvious target. However he still wore the Naquadah chains. 

"Sir, Gabriel saved my life." Sam tried again.

"He's also been slinking around the Galaxy in a corpse." Jack replied matter-of-factly. "Come to think of it, I don't even know why we're letting Zombie-boy come with us at all."

"He's the only one who can unlock the sarcophagus." Sam pointed out.

"Okay, and why are we letting you come?" Jack asked Sam.

"She's the only one who can get the ship running again." Gabriel answered.

"Right." Jack rolled his eyes and then turned them on Daniel. "How about you...what's your excuse for joining on this insane suicide mission?"

Daniel did not grace Jack with a verbal answer, he just narrowed his eyes in irritation.

"Fair enough." Jack replied to Daniel's glare. "Of course Teal'c doesn't even know we're going... Why am I coming?"

"You insisted." Daniel grumbled.

"That sounds like me. I just wanted to make sure I had everybody's motivation straight." Jack turned to Gabriel. "What exactly are we facing here?"

"Well, Sam killed one of the Jaffa, I got about a dozen trying to get her out...so I'd say that leaves around two hundred extremely annoyed Jaffa."

"Only two hundred?"

"Why so few?" Daniel asked.

"Most of Anshar's male warriors and all of his female Jaffa were slaughtered as part of his exile. So he has no good way of replacing them."

"Does that mean the Jaffa he has are thousands of years old?" Sam asked in shock.

"Yes."

"How is that possible?" Jack asked. "I mean I know Jaffa have long life spans, but not that long." 

"Did I ever mention that Anshar is a brilliant chemist?"

"No." Daniel growled.

"He has developed many drugs, one of which halts the maturation process of symbiots."

"Giving his Jaffa a kind of immortality." Sam guessed.

"That's right."

"So...what you're saying it that we are dealing with two hundred Jaffa with several thousand years worth of experience." Jack pointed out.

"Basically."

"Sounds like fun." Jack sighed. 

The intercom above crackled and Siler informed the team that the Gateroom on the far end seemed to be clear. Jack took one last look around, double checked his weapon and started up the ramp.

Daniel started to follow him, but suddenly stopped and turned to face Gabriel. Sam watched as Daniel's spiteful expression degraded into one of sorrowful guilt. He took a breath to say something.

"Let's go, people." Jack called.

Daniel jerked at the sound of Jack's voice as though he'd been woken from a dream. He still had his mouth open to say something, but now he seemed to think better of it. Turning away he followed Jack up the ramp and disappeared with him through the Event Horizon.

Gabriel and Sam walked up the ramp together however when they reached the Horizon Sam put her hand on Gabriel's shoulder to stop him from stepping through. He turned his emerald eyes on her, not even trying to hide the adoration he held for her. It made her uncomfortable to have him looking at her like a love sick puppy, but she pushed that feeling aside.

"Gabriel, I'm sorry."

"There is nothing to be sorry for, Samantha." Gabriel replied with a mirthless smile. 

"We shouldn't be treating you like this."

"Daniel and Jack are only doing what they feel is best."

"How can you be so understanding?"

"I have a lot of experience seeing things through other people's eyes and if I was them I wouldn't trust me either."

"You've done nothing wrong."

"It's not what I've done...it's what I'm capable of that scares them. Not to mention that they both feel it is only a matter of time before I lose my self restraint and take you by force."

"If you were going to do that you would have done so a long time ago."

"That doesn't make them any less protective of you...I am a Goa'uld after all."

Sam took a breath to argue Gabriel's last point, but he did not give her the chance. Stepping through the Event Horizon he vanished with the others. Sam hesitated to follow for a moment. She hadn't really had time to process her first nightmarish encounter with Anshar and she wasn't sure she could handle another one if they failed and were captured again.

"We won't fail." Sam said firmly to herself and stepped through the Gate.

On the other side Jack and Daniel were making sure the immediate area was secure. Gabriel was looking around with his brow knitted in thought. Jack turned around and smiled at Sam. As much as Jack had grumbled about this mission it was painfully obvious that he was thrilled to be out in the field again. 

"What took you so long?" He teased.

"I took a wrong turn at Albuquerque." Sam chuckled.

Jack chuckled and Daniel rolled his eyes. Sam was surprised to see that out of the three men it was Gabriel that suddenly seemed most on edge. He still had his face locked in a look of concern. When he started sniffing at the air Sam began to share that concern. Something wasn't right.

"Gabriel?" Sam asked.

"Something's wrong." Gabriel said echoing her thoughts. "They got the power Crystal working again."

"Is that so surprising?" Jack asked. "I mean after all this is their ship."

"Sir, if the power is working then their sensors are working. Which means they would have been alerted when the Gate was activated and we sent the MALP through."

"That was nearly ten minutes ago." Gabriel added. "And yet..."

"There's no welcoming comity." Daniel finished.

"Doesn't anyone else smell that?" Jack suddenly asked. 

"I do." Gabriel answered. 

"What is it?" Daniel asked, his sense of smell having been dulled over the years by allergies. 

"Ozone." Sam replied. 

"Which means there's been a Staff weapon fight here recently." Jack concluded. 

"It can't be left over from when Sam and I escaped, that was days ago."

"Do you think another Goa'uld noticed that this ship was dead in the water and boarded it?" Sam suggested.

"That seems unlikely." Gabriel replied. "We are in the middle of nowhere right now. In fact, why haven't they moved if they have power?"

"Well, Kids. We can sit around and guess all day long. But the only way to actually find out is to go out there. So let's go and stick to the plan until something else comes up."

Daniel nodded and peeked out into the corridor to make sure it was still clear. Jack checked his weapon and went to leave. Sam looked to Gabriel and could see that he was nervous.

"Sir?" Sam called.

"Carter?" Jack asked as he turned back around.

"We have to take Gabriel's restraints off." Sam practically demanded.

"We do?"

"With the power on we've lost our advantage, it is very likely that they've set up an ambush. If we get caught in a fight Gabriel is going to be defenseless. Not to mention it will be harder to move about quietly."

Jack eyed Gabriel suspiciously for a moment. Gabriel shifted his weight causing the chains to rattle noisily. Jack sighed and looked to Daniel.

"Daniel?"

"Sam's right." Daniel admitted. 

"I know," Jack grumbled "I hate it when that happens."

"You must have a lot of hate in your life." Gabriel pointed out with an innocent smile.

"Don't get me started." Jack sighed. 

"I'm sure Daniel's just as bad." Gabriel added.

"If not worse." Jack chuckled.

Sam breathed a sigh of relief as everyone, Daniel included, seemed to relax a little. Jack took a tiny key out of his breast pocket and used it to free Gabriel. Rubbing at his wrists Gabriel turned to Sam.

"Thank you."

"Consider yourself on probation," Jack said seriously "make one false step and I will not hesitate to shoot you."

"I will tread very carefully."

"Okay, guys," Sam said "are we ready?"

"It's hard to be ready for the unknown, Sam." Daniel smiled. 

"Yeah, it's kinda like preparing for death." Jack added. "I mean how does one 'prepare' for such a thing?"

"Daniel's probably the best person to answer that." Sam noted.

"I find it's best to just wing it."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Jack nodded and then stepped into the corridor. "Come on, Team...time to 'wing it'." 


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Jack muttered.

"At last, we finally have something in common." Gabriel noted unenthusiastically.

"Where is everyone?" Daniel asked. 

"I guess as long as Anshar is where we left him last then it doesn't matter." Sam pointed out.

"He's still there." Gabriel said confidently.

They made their way down some of the lesser used corridors, not daring to risk using the ring transporters. The seemingly endless halls slowly spiraled up towards the upper chambers where Anshar lay imprisoned. 

So far no one had challenged their presence on the ship. They passed several places where the walls were damaged by staff weapon blasts and broken doors. However Sam and Gabriel couldn't tell if that was from their initial chase or not. Jack lead the way with Gabriel close behind for directions. 

"Wait a minute." Jack suddenly backed up to the room they had just past. "What the hell is that?!"

Jack stood in the doorway, unknowingly blocking the others' view. In the middle of a small mostly empty room stood what at first appeared to be a tiny Stargate, even smaller than the Galaxygate. It stood about six feet high and was made of a dull metal that Jack guessed to be Naquadah. 

It was set into the floor the way a Stargate was, however the ring held no chevrons, nor any symbols. In fact it didn't even appear to have any moving parts at all.  
At ten and two o'clock hung a pair of short chains with black leather restrains on the ends. 

Finally stepping into the room the others were allowed to see what the fuss was about. Sam was instantly curious and started looking around the ring for any signs of an access panel. When she reached out to touch it Daniel was there to catch her wrist to stop her.

"What's what?" Gabriel asked as he joined the others. "Oh...that. It's a healing device, of sorts."

"Healing device?" Sam repeated.

"Carter, the way your mind works never ceases to amaze me." Jack said suddenly.

"Sir?"

"Daniel," Jack called "what two words did you pick up on out of Gabriel's little explanation?"

"'of sorts'." Daniel answered.

"Same here." Jack turned to Gabriel. "Do you know what I like about you, Gabriel?"

"Nothing?" Gabriel ventured a guess.

"You have an amazing talent for not telling the truth without actually lying."

"Thank you...I think."

"Care to go into more detail about your little ring 'of sorts' here?" Jack growled.

"First of all, it's not mine. It's Anshar's." Gabriel said firmly. "I don't really know 'how' it works. Maybe later Sam can take it apart and figure it out."

"Whoa, leave me out of this," Sam said quickly "I've got enough work piling up in my lab."

"That's not a surprise." Gabriel smiled. "Anyway, Anshar built it. It works a lot faster than a Sarcophagus, you just have to walk through it."

"Why the restraints?" Daniel asked suspiciously.

"In case the person is dead or can't stand on their own."

Jack narrowed his eyes at Gabriel's quick answer. He looked the device over once more. It didn't look friendly. 

"I don't like it." Jack announced.

"Um...okay." Gabriel shrugged. "I don't know what you expect me to do about that. Feel free to destroy it, if it will make you feel better."

"I want to see it work."

"Okay, I'll need a volunteer." Gabriel informed. "I'm sure Daniel told you my fears about healing devices."

"Yeah...convenient." Jack grumbled.

"Actually I find it rather inconvenient considering how much wear and tear I've suffered lately thanks to you guys."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I can barely even lose my temper without suffering a heart attack ever since Daniel almost let me die. Luckily my feathers don't ruffle as easily as yours."

Sam sighed as she saw Jack's dark eyes glitter with that particular brand of fire that told her he was just itching to start a fight. Knowing there was no other way to end this she unsheathed her utility knife and sliced a small cut into her palm.

"Sam!" Daniel cried in alarm.

"Carter!" Jack snapped. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Volunteering." 

Gabriel chuckled, but quickly went silent as Jack and Daniel turned their glare on him. He walked around to the outside of the ring and activated it. Deep blue lights appeared in an intricate, almost tribal, pattern along the front of the ring. Daniel had been expecting some sort of wormhole type curtain inside the ring, but it remained clear.

"Is that it?" Sam asked.

"Yes." Gabriel informed. "You don't have to walk all the way through." 

Sam stepped up to the ring and streched out her hand. When she reached the place were a Stargate would have an Even Horizon it was as if she had broken the surface of an invisible lake. The blood washed away in the blink of an eye. When she pulled her hand back the skin was perfect. She held it up for the others to see.

"Okay, I'll admit it," Jack muttered "I'm impressed."

"Can we go now?" Gabriel asked.

"Yeah, yeah...let's keep moving."

Gabriel tapped the ring again and the lights vanished. Daniel looked the device over once more before joining the others back in the hallway. Even though Gabriel seemed to have told the truth about it the strange ring still chilled his blood.

They continued on their journey and had risen two more levels before coming across the first signs of life on the nearly abandoned ship. Jack halted everyone with a simple hand signal. With his weapon held at the ready he carefully approached the still figure sitting on the floor leaning against the wall. 

The Jaffa had his arms wrapped over his stomach, both of which were covered in blood. Jack poked at the Jaffa's shoulder experimentally with the muzzle of his P90. When he got no response he reached out and pressed his fingers against the man's neck.

"He's dead." Jack announced.

"I didn't kill him." Gabriel said quickly. "I only met resistance directly outside the Crystal room. After causing some damage I was briefly able to convince them that I was indeed a god and that I was to be left alone. By the time they regrouped Sam and I were locked in the Gateroom."

"Okay, people, keep a sharp eye out." Jack ordered. "Something's not right."

"Is it ever?" Daniel muttered.

As they moved on it was Daniel that noticed the smear of still wet blood on the floor. He nudged Jack in the ribs and pointed it out. Already on full alert Jack began to follow the trail like a hound on a scent. 

The thin trail slowly widened and then disappeared under a door. Jack motioned everyone to the sides of the door and then nodded to Carter to open it. When the door slid open he made a sweep of it with practiced ease.

In the corner a powerful Jaffa lay huddled and trembling. Like the dead Jaffa in the hallway he had his arms wrapped tightly over his stomach. Jack cautiously approached him. The others followed into the room. The Jaffa turned his terrified eyes on them. Sam instantly recognized him as the Prime even before she saw his golden seal.

"Qin'el!" Gabriel cried in distress. 

"Lor...Lord Xian?" 

Gabriel pushed past Jack and knelt in front of the wounded Prime. Jack and Daniel exchanged a thousand words in a single glance and they both raised weapons at the pair in order to fire if needed. 

Gabriel didn't notice. He placed his hands on Qin'el's arms and tried to pull them away from the wound to get a better look. The Prime struggled against him, tears slipping unchecked down his face.

"No...it is no use, my Lord." Qin'el whimpered. "Lord Anshar has condemned me to death."

"Anshar?" Jack repeated in alarm.

Qin'el looked up at the others in the room for a moment but then turned his attention back to Gabriel. 

"I am sorry for failing you." Qin'el said sincerely.

"You have failed no one." Gabriel assured. "Please, Qin'el, what has happened?"

Qin'el stared Gabriel in misery. Closing his eyes he lifted his hands away from his stomach. Gabriel's breath hissed sharply across his teeth. Sam gasped as well at the unexpected sight. Daniel turned away, suddenly looking a little green around the gills.

"Oh gross," Jack groaned "I don't need to see that."

Qin'el closed his arms back around his mutilated pouch that still held half of the remains of his Symbiot. To Sam's surprise Gabriel brushed away a tear that had escaped from his own eye. He gently placed his hand on Qin'el's shoulder.

"What did he do with the rest of the Symbiot?" Gabriel asked quietly.

"He...he ate it."

Gabriel froze. It wasn't until Qin'el began to struggle for breath that he snapped out of his trance. Qin'el looked into Gabriel's eyes desperately. Gabriel forced a smile and then flashed his eyes a brilliant white.

"Die in peace my Child, you have my forgiveness." Gabriel said in his reverberating voice. "Which means you have the forgiveness of all the gods."

"Thank you, my Lord." Qin'el breathed with a smile.

Qin'el finally gave in to the darkness that he had been fighting against. Gabriel waited a moment until he could see the light of life had left his eyes. Reaching out he closed Qin'el's eyes. He sat back and dragged his hands through his long hair.

"Still playing the 'god'?" Jack hissed.

"A man's death bed is no place for conversion." Gabriel sighed. 

"He deserved to know the truth." Jack spat back.

"The truth?!" Gabriel snarled. He leapt to his feet and turned on Jack. "Would you rather I had told him that his thousands of years of service were for nothing? What would that have proved? What mercy would that have been?!"

"It would have been better tha..."

"Guys, please," Sam interrupted "we don't have time for this. Anshar is obviously out and dangerously angry."

"He's not angry, Sam, he's insane." Gabriel sighed, calming instanly as he spoke to her. "I should have thought of this."

"It doesn't matter," Daniel said suddenly "we just need to find him and take him alive so we can find out which Tok'ra he's taken."

"That will be impossible." Gabriel said sadly.

"He can't be that crafty, we've caught others." Jack said confidently.

"No, it's impossible because he's no longer alive."

"What?" All three asked in unison.

"Anshar was locked in the Sarcophagus when Sam broke the Power Crystal. The surge of energy from that most likely killed him again. It probably took the Jaffa several days to repair the Crystal. By that time the soul of Anshar's host would have become irretrievable. The flesh has been given chemical life...but only instinct controls it. It is exactly what I fear would happen to me."

"I thought it was just theory." Daniel pointed out. "How can you know that it's actually happened."

"Nothing else would cause Anshar to eat his own young."

"How did he get out?" Sam asked.

"The Power failure must have reset the lock."

"So what exactly are we dealing with here?" Jack asked nervously.

"Anshar is soulless animated flesh, made extremely powerful by the Naquadah in his blood, and he only has one thing on his mind."

"Dare I ask what that is?"

"Killing anything that moves."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

"Okay, we need to find Anshar." Jack announced.

"I'm sure he'll find us." Gabriel noted darkly.

"Then we'll met him halfway." Jack snarled. "Let's move out."

"You should allow me a hand device...it may be the only way of stopping him."

"Forget it."

"Si..."

"Carter, not...a...word." Jack said each syllable carefully. "Understood?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Are bullets going to be enough to bring Anshar down?" Daniel asked. 

"We're going to go find out, and if not I'm sure we can out run a dead guy." Jack said confidently.

Sam looked to Gabriel nervously. He was in no condition to do any heavy running. Gabriel smiled sadly at her and mouthed a quick 'I'll be okay'. Leaving the dead Prime behind the team stepped out into the hall.

"We should continue towards his main chamber." Daniel announced.

"Any particular reason?" Jack asked.

"He's probably still addicted to the Sarcophagus on some level and will most likely return." Gabriel answered for Daniel.

"What he said." Daniel confirmed.

"Good as any place I guess."

As they made their way to the upper levels Sam found herself falling behind. At first she told herself that she just wanted to protect their 'six'. However as they drew closer to their goal her blood grew colder and her stomach knotted.

Given a little more time she was sure she'd get over this. At the moment the memories of the Vel'na's bite and Anshar's hands on her skin were still too vivid. Sam noticed that she was now a good fifteen feet from the others and hurried to catch up. 

"Sam?" Daniel asked quietly as she stepped up beside him. 

"I'm alright." Sam answered quickly.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, Daniel." Sam repeated. "Honestly. I can handle it."

"Handle what?"

Sam wasn't sure if Daniel truly didn't know or if simply wanted to make sure she was comfortable enough to talk about it. Which she wasn't. She took a breath to say something dismissive when Jack suddenly fired down a side corridor that they had just come to.

Sam leapt to the challenge and rushed up to join Jack. Anshar was about fifty feet away with his back turned to them. Sam fired a few quick bursts into him as well. Falling to the ground Anshar laid still. Jack looked to Sam with a surprised expression.

"That was...easy." Jack said.

"That's a good thin..."

Sam was cut off as Anshar made a horrific noise that sliced into their nerves like a nail against a chalkboard. Getting to his feet Anshar turned and bellowed in rage. Jack emptied the rest of his clip into the hall. Sam took better aim and fired a shot between his eyes. When that did nothing to stop him from coming towards them Sam stopped and stared at Jack.

"Run away?" Jack suggested.

Sam nodded.

"Yeah, I think so." Daniel agreed. 

"I second that." Gabriel said quickly. "Anshar's chamber is just ahead and to the right."

The team bolted forward as fast as they could. Anshar was quicker on his feet than they would have guessed. They had just enough time to slid into Anshar's main chamber and get the door closed. Sam ripped off the access panel and once again disabled the door. 

Everyone took a moment to catch their breath while the monster that hunted them banged on the door and howled in rage. Gabriel reached into his pocket and pulled out an injection pen that Dr. Brightman had filled with the bright green serum. He jabbed the short needle into his throat.

"Whoa...wait a minute guys," Sam said in alarm "now we're trapped in here."

"We wouldn't have out run him for long, at least this way we're safe and can regroup." Gabriel panted as he waited for the serum to take affect.

"Correction, 'you' wouldn't have been able to out run him."

"Sir!" Sam admonished.

"What?" Jack asked innocently. "You know what they say, Carter: you don't have to out run the bear, you just have to out run your friend."

"If it comes down to using me as bait so that you can get away I will gladly do it." Gabriel said seriously. 

"Sounds like a plan to me." Jack said enthusiastically. 

"Perhaps we can put a little effort into another idea first?" Gabriel asked. 

"Is there a hand device in here?" Daniel asked.

"No. Sam took Anshar's and it's back at the SGC along with mine. I have a Niacine one...but it is hidden in my room, for obvious reasons."

"We need something that can destroy him in one shot." Jack mused. "Putting holes in him just pisses him off...we need something to break down his whole system at once."

Sam and Gabriel's eyes both widened. They looked at one another and held a silent conversation. Gabriel raised his eye brows in a 'do you think it would work?'. Sam shrugged a 'I don't see why not'.

"Something you two would like to share with the whole class?" Jack asked irritated. 

"You're a genius." Gabriel announced.

"Thanks...why?"

"We have something in this room that can do what you suggested: break down his system."

"What is it?" Daniel asked.

Gabriel and Sam both turned to look at the ornate cage on the far wall. The snake within the glass cube had raised its head to inspect the intruders, but when he saw nothing of interest he laid back down. Sam turned away from it and took a moment to calm her breathing. 

"What is that thing?" Jack asked.

"A Vel'na."

"A what now?" 

"Vel'na. A very rare, extremely venomous snake." Gabriel explained. "There's only one serious problem."

"A worse problem than a super Zombie?"

"Possibly."

"Sir, the Vel'na they...they can taste fear."

"Great...so?"

"You have to be truly unafraid of it to pick it up." Gabriel added. 

"Well then, have at it."

"I...I can not." Gabriel stuttered.

"You're afraid of snakes?" Jack asked skeptically. "For crying out loud, you are a snake!"

"If I am bitten there is no help for me. This makes me fearful...there is nothing I can do about that. If I handle the Vel'na he will bite me."

"Sir, I...I would...but..."

"No, Sam," Gabriel said gently "you can not be expected to touch the Vel'na."

"Don't look at me," Jack said firmly "snakes give me the willies big time."

"We need to think of some way to pick it up so that it can not bi..."

Gabriel came to a sudden stop. He, Jack and Sam stared in shock at Daniel who had just joined them. In his hand was the brightly coloured Vel'na. Although he held the snake's neck captive between his fingers it seemed as peaceful and harmless as a Garter Snake. 

"What?" Daniel asked as they continued to stare.

"Daniel," Jack said in awe "I had no idea you were such a charmer." 

"Very funny." Daniel replied drying. 

"Where did you learn how to handle a snake like that?" Sam asked.

"Abydos was covered in venomous snakes." Daniel shrugged. "Sha're didn't like them in the tent, but she never wanted me to kill them."

"Well then...that's one problem solved." Jack smiled. "Now how do we get it to bite our Zombie?"

"That's the easy part," Gabriel said "just throw it at him. The Vel'na will certainly feel threatened."

"That seems risky." Daniel countered. "It would be best if we could find a way to press it against his throat."

"I will draw him into the Sarcophagus room, you can hide behind the door. I'll engage him long enough to allow you to use the Vel'na." Gabriel volunteered.

"What should we do?" Sam asked.

"Hide." Gabriel shrugged. "If it doesn't work you three should be able to get away. I'll disable the Sarcophagus so that he can't use it just in case."

"Let's do it." Daniel agreed.

Gabriel and Daniel went into the Sarcophagus room. While Gabriel disabled the device Sam enabled the door so that it could be opened from the inside. When everything was set Jack and Sam found a suitable hiding place.

Gabriel stood in front of the main door and looked back to Daniel to see if he was ready. Daniel nodded and hid himself just beyond the archway of the door. Gabriel took a deep breath and opened the door.

Anshar surged into the room without hesitation. Gabriel backed away just quick enough to avoid being grabbed. Anshar rushed at him tactlessly and was easily drawn further into the room. 

When they both passed through the archway into the small room Gabriel lashed out and tangled his hands into Anshar's gory hair. Roaring in fury Anshar wrapped his hands around Gabriel's throat. Not even trying to escape Gabriel simply pulled as hard as he could on Anshar's hair to expose his throat.

Daniel seized the opportunity to press the reptile against the throbbing artery just beneath the skin. Reacting violently the Vel'na sank his fangs into the putrid flesh. Crying like a injured animal Anshar increased his grip on Gabriel's throat.

Gabriel struggled to free himself now that the beast had been poisoned. However the Vel'na's venom was slow acting and Anshar was still too strong. Dropping the snake Daniel clawed at Anshar's arms to no affected. Not knowing what else to do Daniel pulled out his sidearm, pressed it against Anshar's temple, and pulled the trigger.

Daniel had closed his eyes so that he wouldn't have to witness the gore. For a fatal moment he found himself frozen, unable to move or even open his eyes. Suddenly he felt someone pulling on him. He fought briefly until he realized that it was Gabriel trying to get him out of the room. Anshar had been shaken by the blow, but amazingly it had done little to slow him down.

Gabriel shoved Daniel through the door way and then whipped around to kick Anshar hard in the chest. The reanimated Goa'uld stumbled back and it was just enough to allow Gabriel to escape and lock the door. 

"Thank you, Daniel." Gabriel panted.

"For what?"

"You could have just left me in there with him."

"You could have done the same."

Jack and Sam had long since left their hiding place and rushed up to the pair. Everyone froze as Anshar screamed in an inhumane voice of rage, and then again in agony as the venom started to take hold. Sam suddenly collapsed to her knees and began dry heaving violently.

"Carter!" Jack cried as he dropped down beside her.

"She'll be okay," Gabriel said sadly "just take her where she can't hear this. Daniel and I will join you at the Gate when we are sure that Anshar is dead."

Jack just nodded and helped Sam to her feet. She brushed away her tears angrily, not willing to look up at anyone. Beyond the door Anshar's cries grew more and more desperate. 

"I'm sorry..." She whispered.

"No, it's okay," Jack said gently "I shouldn't have allowed you back out into the field so quickly, let alone brought you back here. These things take time."

"I...I just know what he's going through."

"Your compassion amazes me, Carter."

Sam smiled as Jack put his arm over her shoulders and lead her from the room and away from Anshar's wailing. Gabriel watched them go with unreadable expression. When Anshar cried out in fear rather than pain tears suddenly slipped from Gabriel's bright eyes. He sat down on the floor, and started to compulsively run his hands through his long hair.

"I was so close." Gabriel sighed to himself. "You ruined everything, Sam."

"Gabriel?" Daniel asked softly.

Gabriel just shook his head. He wasn't in the mood to talk. Daniel sighed and sat down on the floor as well. They waited until long after Anshar's cries grew weak and went silent. 

Eventually Gabriel pushed himself to his feet and went to the door. Daniel followed him with his sidearm in his hand. When Gabriel opened the door it took every ounce of Daniel's strength not to be violently ill.

Anshar's remains were a twisted mass of broken bone and oozing flesh. His body was contorted in an unnatural position with his back arched beyond the breaking point. His face had already been ruined by the gun shot wound, but now it was also distorted in a mask of frozen agony.

"You deserve no better." Gabriel growled darkly and slide the door closed.

Gabriel rested his forehead against the metal door. When Gabriel didn't move Daniel reached out and put his hand on his shoulder, but he got no response. Even with his back turned Daniel could sense the weary expression on the Goa'uld's face.

"Gabriel?"

"Yeah?" Gabriel replied half heartedly as he turned around.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Mistrusting you."

"I think you already apologized before, Daniel."

"Yeah...but I didn't really mean it then."

"And you do now?" Gabriel asked skeptically.

"Yes." Daniel admitted. "I was wrong about you."

Gabriel searched Daniel's rain water eyes with his own forest green ones. He forced the corners of his lips into a smile, but the action was not reflected anywhere else in his expression.

"No," Gabriel sighed heavily "you were right all along...you always are."

"What?"

"I could have stopped what happened to Mila, I never had any intention of killing Ba'al, and I was hiding something."

"What were you hiding?"

"It doesn't matter now. My one chance at fixing this mess with my vile Children died with Anshar. It took nearly a year to arrange the meeting that is supposed to take place in a week. ...I can't believe it almost worked."

"Why do you want to get on Ba'al's ship so badly if not to kill him?"

"I already told you it doesn't matter. There is no way I'll get close to him now. Unless..."

"Unless?" Daniel asked when Gabriel didn't continue.

"Daniel, how far would you go?" Gabriel asked suddenly.

"For what?"

"To end the curse of the Goa'uld...with almost no blood shed?"

"You know I would travel to the end of the Universe if it would help."

"You would do anything?"

"I would do anything." Daniel confirmed.

"Do you truly mean that?" Gabriel pressed.

"I do."

"Would you go so far as to trust me? And I mean fully. Would you trust me as you trusted the Vel'na?"

Daniel searched Gabriel's expression, and was surprised to see that it held a sudden spark of hope. Daniel closed his eyes and took a moment to look inside himself and make sure that his next words were not a lie. Once he found the truth he opened his eyes once more.

"I would."

"Then I have a plan..."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

"Let me put this in a way that you are uniquely qualified to understand, Daniel." Jack growled darkly. "No, non, nein, nyet, bu, aniyo, mai, ni hea, nej, nee, nah, kree!"

Back in Jack's office at the SGC Jack and Daniel stared each other down like two dogs sizing each other up before a fight. At first Daniel was startled by how many languages Jack could say 'no' in. Seeing that Jack was in one his 'unreasonable' moods Daniel bowed his head in frustration. He pulled his glasses off and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. 

"Was that rehearsed?" Daniel asked wearily.

"Yup."

"You've been waiting to use that for years...haven't you?"

"You bet cha." Jack confirmed. "And I meant every word of it."

"Well 'kree' doesn't exactly translate into 'no'..."

"Daniel!" Jack snapped angrily. "Do not pretend to miss my point!"

"You don't even know what you're saying 'no' to!" Daniel raised his voice to match Jack's. "All I said was 'Gabriel has an idea'."

"That's all I needed to hear." Jack said firmly. 

Daniel made a noise of utter exasperation. Jack signified that the conversation was closed by crossing his arms over his chest. Not about to give up easily Daniel put his glasses back on and prepared to fight it out.

"Jac..."

"Daniel, read my lips, read my body language, read my **mind** if that's what it takes. The answer is still 'no'."

"Sam..." Daniel sighed.

"Cater..." Jack said simultaneously.

"Help me out here." They chimed in unison.

Sam's eyes widened as they suddenly dragged her into the argument. She looked at them both in turn, at a loss as to what to say. Gabriel was standing next to her and suddenly she felt him lean in close to her ear.

"Do they do this to you often?" Gabriel whispered.

"All of the time." Sam answered with a rueful smile.

"Poor thing."

"Why do I get the distinct feeling that I'm getting out numbered here?" Jack growled. 

"Sir," Sam said carefully "we should at least hear what Daniel and Gabriel have to say. There can't be any harm in just listening."

"Fine...I'm 'listening'." 

Daniel exchanged a look of 'should you tell him or should I?' with Gabriel. 'He's your friend' was Gabriel's clear unspoken answer. Sam couldn't help smile at the look of resignation that passed over Daniel's face. 

Taking a deep breath Daniel launched into an explanation of almost everything he and Gabriel had talked about before joining them back at the Gate. To his credit Jack listened to every word of it, his face an unreadable mask of stone. 

When Daniel was finished all eyes turned on Jack. He searched Daniel's face for a moment before turning to look at Sam. She smiled and nodded, it was a dangerous plan, but it had merit. Jack took a deep breath and picked up the phone on his desk.

"Jack?" Daniel asked confused. "What are you doing?"

"Calling medical."

"Um...why?"

"Because clearly you two have _lost your minds_!" Jack yelled as he slammed the phone back down. 

"Jack, this is very important. If it works I will have free rein of Ba'al's ship and **all** of his research and plans."

"That's a mighty big 'if' there, Danny." Jack snarled. "I don't care if Gabe here can teach you to sound like a Goa'uld or flash your eyes like one, Ba'al will _never_ believe that you are hosting Anshar."

"I believe that he will." Gabriel interjected. "Mostly because he'll want to believe it."

"Why?"

"Because then Anshar will no longer just be a puppet to him, but a powerful tool. 'Anshar' in Daniel's body would have access to the knowledge of the Ancients."

"I thought Goa'uld could sense each other's symbiots." Jack pointed out. "He'll know instantly that Daniel's not a Goa'uld. Unless you're going to move in."

"I can not leave this body. I would not be able to return." Gabriel said seriously. "However, I believe I can get around the problem another way."

"How?" Jack demanded.

"By extracting some of my spinal fluid I believe I can create a false symbiot marker that will fool Ba'al into sensing a symbiot."

"Where will you be during all of this?" Jack asked suspiciously.

"I would not leave Daniel to face this on his own." Gabriel said firmly. "I will be with him."

"He will act as my Prime. He and Ba'al have never met." Daniel clarified. "We can make a fake Seal like the one found on the dead Jaffa."

The room went silent as Jack thought over everything that had been said. In the end he just shook his head sadly. Seeing that they weren't making any headway Daniel raked his hands through his hair in frustration. Jack noticed the new compulsive habit his freind had picked up fromhis time with Gabriel.

"Daniel, I understand how much this could mean, bu..."

"Do you really, Jack?" Daniel asked seriously. "If Gabriel is right, Ba'al might have the key to ending the Goa'uld without even knowing it."

"Alright, tell me more about that." Jack sighed.

"Anshar and Ba'al have been working together on this strike against the Tok'ra." Gabriel explained. "Basically they each hold half of the key to turn the Tok'ra. If I could get into Ba'al's lab and see his research, I think I can turn it against him. I've been trying my hardest to reverse engineer his methods. However I need to see the whole picture."

"This is the part that sold me, Jack. If Gabriel is right, he may have a way to remove the Goa'uld's genetic memory, take away their ability to produce technology."

"They'd still be Goa'uld's." Jack snarled. "Knowledge isn't what makes them 'evil'."

"Yes it is." Gabriel corrected.

"Come again?"

"I've been studying the Tok'ra..."

"While Anshar's been torturing them?" Jack hissed.

"Unfortunately, yes." Gabriel admitted. "He and Ba'al found something extraordinary, a set of memory genes that the Tok'ra are missing. A host somewhere in the past transmitted the particular blend of knowledge that makes Goa'uld different from Tok'ra. If you give a Tok'ra that gene...they turn. If we can get those genes out, the reverse will hold true, but only Ba'al would have the slightest clue on how that's done. I must have access to his work."

Jack narrowed his eyes in irritation. He turned to Daniel and put his hand on his shoulder. For a moment he just locked eyes with him to let him know that what he was about to say was plain honest truth. No sarcasm, no wit, simply the truth.

"Daniel, I've always thought that you were an intelligent, if somewhat over emotional, man and I have long valued your opinion. However, you can't possibly believe a word of what Gabriel is saying."

"I believe it," Daniel replied as he stepped away "because I've experienced it for myself." 

"Mila could have been driven mad any number of ways, Daniel."

"I'm not talking about Mila." Daniel replied quietly. "I'm talking about myself."

"What?"

"When Shifu the Hacesis gave me the knowledge of the Goa'uld. It...uh...quickly got the best of me."

"Meaning?"

"In the dream that he put me in the information changed me, horribly." Daniel admitted. "I had Sam imprisoned, I sent Teal'c to his death, I tortured Apophis...and then eventually I...uh...I vaporized Moscow."

"Vaporized Moscow?" Jack repeated.

"Yeah, with a weapons system that I had built."

"Why? Just because you could?"

"Once I had that much power, all that knowledge...I couldn't stop myself from using it. It poisoned me."

"So you think that taking it away from the Goa'uld would stop them?" Jack asked seriously.

"Better than that. I believe that they would give up their guise as 'gods'. I mean they'd almost have too since they'd no longer know how to use any of their technology. And if that happened they would likely free the Jaffa themselves or at worst the Jaffa would simply lose their faith in them. They would no longer lord over words to harvest hosts and enforce slavery. The war would be over with hardly a drop of blood spilt."

"My Children would either become Tok'ra or perhaps just animals once more, O'Neill." Gabriel said somberly.

"Animals?"

"I was once a very simple creature. The Goa'uld were animals like any other. They would return to the waters from which they came and once more become a part of the natural balance."

Jack rubbed at his temples, trying to stave off his ever growing headache. He looked to Daniel once again, to see if he truly meant what he was proposing. He had to admit that he hadn't seen such conviction and determination in the young man's face since his wife's death. Jack switched his attention to Sam for help, but she just smiled sadly.

"Say I believed you." Jack sighed. "I still don't think Ba'al would fall for any of this for a second. I mean he'd have to wonder why Anshar suddenly ended up in Daniel's body."

"We would have to stage it as a failed rescue attempt." Gabriel explained. "Ba'al has already been informed that Sam has been captured and is expecting her. We can say that Anshar took Daniel as a host in a moment of desperation when his own host had been destroyed during the rescue."

"And some how Carter just happened to escape anyway?" Jack asked skeptically.

"Um...well...no." Daniel admitted. "I don't like this, but to truly make this believable Sam would have to come with us."

It took a moment for Daniel to find the courage to look up at Jack. He had expected to see Jack's face twisted with rage. However all he saw in the older man's dark eyes was abject terror. 

"No." Jack whispered. "Daniel, no."

"Jack, we will be keeping Ba'al occupied at all ti..."

"No!" Jack roared. "I am not ordering Carter to play the part of Ba'al's prisoner!"

"It won't be necessary to order me, Sir." Sam interjected. "Daniel came to me with all of this before he came to you."

"Car..."

"I've already agreed to do it, Sir." 


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Back on Anshar's ship Daniel turned a small, flat lacquer box over in his hands while Sam rooted through Anshar's closet. They were currently a day late for the meeting with Ba'al and still several hundred light years away. However, Sam assure them that she was getting all she could out of the hyper drives and they should be at the coordinates in a few hours. 

Daniel tried not to think about it. The closer they came, the more the reality of the situation began to reveal itself to him. Gabriel hadn't even successfully produced the marker that would hopefully fool Ba'al into believing he carried a symbiot. To distract himself he read the small lettering on the box in his hands.

"Sam?" 

"Daniel." Sam replied in an admonishing tone.

"Oh, right, sorry." Daniel replied in the reverberating voice he was supposed to be practicing. "What is this?"

"Eye shadow."

"'Peacock Blue'?" Daniel read the colour out loud.

"You like it?" Sam teased.

"Not really."

"Too bad, you're wearing it."

Daniel rolled his currently unpainted eyes and wondered why Goa'uld always felt the need to be so theatrical. Sam came over with the outfit she had chosen for him: a pair of black silk pants that had an intricate silver tribal scroll pattern down one side, a metallic silver undershirt and a buttonless black silk jacket that held the same scroll pattern around the collar. Daniel took the garishly silver shirt and held it up.

"You like it?" Sam asked again.

"Not really." Daniel chuckled. 

"Trust me, this is tame compared to some of the stuff in there."

"I'll take your word for it."

Daniel pulled off his black cotton shirt and exchanged it for the shiny silver one. Sam walked over to the small bag she had brought along and busied herself while Daniel slipped into the silk pants. Pulling on the jacket he looked down at himself and shook his head sadly. 

"At least it fits." Sam commented as she walked back over. "Sit down on the edge of the bed." 

Daniel followed orders and sat down. Sam had brought over a few things and set them down on the bed next to him. She picked up a small jar and took off the lid. Daniel looked hesitantly in at the contents, a pinkish goo. Rubbing a small amount into her palms Sam used it to spike Daniel's hair messily. 

"Am I ever going to be able to get this stuff out of my hair?"

"It washes right out." Sam assured as she picked up a black eye liner pencil. "Look up."

Daniel tilted his head back.

"No," Sam chuckled "just with your eyes."

"Oh." 

Daniel looked up and Sam carefully out lined his lower eyelid with the ebony grease. She drew out the corners of his eyes in the way that Anshar had worn his own make-up. When she was done Daniel blinked rapidly. 

"I don't know how you gals wear this stuff." 

"I'm not very fond of it myself." Sam admitted. She picked up the eye shadow. "Close your eyes."

Daniel closed his eyes and patiently waited while Sam applied a thin layer of the garish colour over them. When she was done she took a step back and looked over her work. Daniel opened his eyes and looked up at her. 

"You look..." Sam searched for the words "the part." 

"Let's hope so." 

"Although, you're going to have to work on your expression of self-important arrogance."

"I'm not that good an actor."

"Sure you are." Sam smiled. "Just pretend that all of our lives depend on it."

"They...um...they do." Daniel pointed out.

"Then it should be easy."

Daniel was forced to smile, which helped ease Sam's tension as well. However the mirth between them was quickly lost. Daniel stood up and shifted his weight uncomfortably. He went to run his hands through his hair, but he stopped when his fingers came in contact with the sticky gel. He looked at Sam and sighed.

"Sam..."

"Daniel, don't."

"What?"

"Don't tell me about your second thoughts." Sam said seriously. "We are doing this, and everything is going to work out. Right?"

"Right." Daniel agreed half heartedly. 

"We should only be there for a few days." Sam smiled bravely. "I can handle anything for that long."

"Gabriel and I are going to keep Ba'al occupied at all times...even if we have to set fire to something to do it."

"Just don't let him trick you into breaking cover."

"Maybe it would be best to just forgive each other right now."

"For what?"

"Anything that we say or do."

Sam chuckled and pulled Daniel into a friendly embrace. She released him and shoved his shoulder playfully. Daniel smiled and took a breath to say something more, however, he was interrupted as Jack stepped into the room. Jack walked up to Daniel and looked him up and down critically.

"Wow." Jack tried to hide a smile. "I'm...speechless."

"If only." Daniel muttered.

"All ready for the Marilyn Manson concert are we?"

"Jack..." Daniel growled.

"Teal'c's never going to forgive himself for missing this."

"Has Gabriel finished the marker yet?" Sam asked to steer the conversation.

"I have." Gabriel answered as he stepped into the room. "But please, don't call me Gabriel anymore. Xian is much safer."

"Safer?" Jack asked.

"I try not to think of what would happen to me if Ba'al figured out who I really am." Gabriel admitted with a shudder. 

Gabriel joined the others and pulled the cap off the syringe he held. The bright red fluid in the syringe swirled violently with a life of its own. Jack glanced nervously at Daniel.

"How long is this 'marker' going to last?" Jack asked.

"According to theory it's permanent." Gabriel replied.

"Permanent?" Jack repeated alarmed.

"Theory?" Daniel repeated nervously.

"It should not degrade and I've designed it so that Daniel's immune system will not react to it. Which was tricky considering how over active his immunity is already."

"How will we know if it works?" Jack took a protective step closer to Daniel. "Forgive me, but I'm not willing to trust your word just yet."

"How about Sam's?"

"What?"

Gabriel handed the syringe to Jack and stepped back about ten feet. 

"Sam, can you sense the serum?" Gabriel asked.

Sam closed her eyes and concentrated. "Yes. I can."

"Then it works."

Gabriel came back over and took the needle back. He put his hand on Daniel's shoulder and silently asked him to kneel down. Daniel bowed his head as Gabriel moved around behind him.

"It won't hurt for long." Gabriel assured.

"I'm fine." 

"Just don't move."

Daniel remained motionless in response. Sam decided against watching as Gabriel carefully pushed the sharp needle through Daniel's skin and in between the vertebra at the base of his neck. She could hear him panting, but it quickly passed.

"Okay, that's it." Gabriel announced. "You shouldn't feel any different."

"I don't." Daniel replied as he stood.

"Good."

"Okay, kids, I guess it's Showtime." Jack sighed. "Gab...sorry, Xian, go get that Seal secured and find something suitably 'First Prime' to wear."

"I'll help you." Sam volunteered.

"Thank you."

Jack watched them leave, his blood ice cold in his veins. His mind was telling him that they had successfully pulled off more dangerous missions. However his heart was telling him that everything was about to go wrong. He turned and saw that Daniel didn't look any more comfortable about this now that the time was drawing near.

"Daniel..."

"Yeah?" 

"Take care of Carter."

"I will, I promise."

"Try and keep an eye on your own back while you're at it."

"I'll try."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Daniel walked through the main hall of Ba'al's ship with two Jaffa guards following a step behind him. Although an invited guest he felt like a prisoner already. Daniel forced that thought to the back of his mind and told himself that he was in the Lion's Den now and the only way to survive was to suppress all fear. 

They came to a large ornate door with two more of Ba'al's loyal Jaffa outside. Daniel didn't even grace them with a glance. He raised the hand device he wore and silently commanded the door to open for him. He was just pleased that Gabriel's crash course in hand device uses had worked. Taking as unobtrusive a deep breath as possible Daniel entered the room as though he was walking into his own house.

Ba'al was sitting up on a dais in his throne like chair reading a leather bound book. He was purposefully not looking up at the intrusion. Gritting his teeth together Daniel glared menacingly at Ba'al's Prime who stood to the side of the System Lord. To Daniel's surprise the Prime gave him a shallow bow of respect.

"Lord Ba'al," the Prime said hesitantly "Lord Anshar is here."

Ba'al looked up with a practiced look of disinterest that completely fell apart when he caught sight of Daniel. The book he had been reading dropped noisily to the floor, breaking his staring spell. Daniel risked a tight lipped smile and flashed his eyes a bright white. Ba'al regained his composure, but he could not hide the surprise in his voice.

"Anshar?"

"I apologize for being late." Daniel replied insincerely in his new voice. "There was an ...unexpected delay."

"I can see that." Ba'al looked Daniel over and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I must admit that I am surprised to see you like this."

"I must admit that I am surprised to be like this."

"What do you think of you new host?" Ba'al mocked.

"It is...adequate." 

"The Tau'ri proved more cunning than you thought. Perhaps now you will apologize for your insulting remarks to me about my inability to defeat them myself."

"I will do no such thing." Daniel growled. "This host may have forced me from my previous shell, however, it is I who ended up the victor."

Ba'al narrowed his eyes and studied Daniel quietly. Daniel waited patiently for Ba'al to respond, praying that he didn't start to sweat through the hot silk outfit. Ba'al got to his feet slowly without taking his eyes off his new guest. The way Ba'al was looking at him made Daniel's instincts scream at him that this wasn't working. 

"So I take it that Jackson gave up his own life to free your gift to me?" Ba'al asked casually. "You call that victory... _Anshar_."

"Who says he freed her?" Daniel replied with a cold smile.

Gabriel stepped into the room with Sam in his possession. She didn't struggle against him until she caught sight of Ba'al. Gasping sharply she tried to twist out of Gabriel's grasp. Daniel's blood had flashed to ice at the tone in Ba'al's voice when he had called him 'Anshar', however it thawed when he saw the look of shock now on the Gou'ald's face. It was evident that even Ba'al didn't believe that they would go this far. 

Daniel kept his eyes locked on Ba'al, unable to watch Sam's act in fear that he'd lose his nerve if he did. Gabriel brought his prize up on the dais. Sam stopped her pointless struggling and glared spitefully at Ba'al. He returned her look with one of cold mirth and reached out to brush her cheek. Fear over took Sam's expression and she turned to Daniel desperately.

"Daniel..." Sam whimpered "Daniel please, I know you're still in there...fight him. Help me, Dan..."

"Call me 'Daniel' again and I will strike you dead." Daniel snarled. 

"Kneel in the presence of your gods!" Gabriel hissed in her ear loud enough for everyone to hear. 

Sam's fear degraded into anger once more. She stood up straighter, pulling her shoulders back. Gabriel growled in frustration. He placed the tip of his shoe against the back of her knee and pushed. With a cry of pain Sam was forced to her knees. 

"I would have thought you'd have her better broken by now, Anshar." Ba'al teased condescendingly. "Perhaps you are losing your touch?"

"I do not have time for senselessly torturing the Tau'ri." Daniel replied evenly. "I still do not see why you haven't defeated them long before now. I have even learned that you have lowered yourself to work side by side with this one."

"I neve..." Ba'al's face reddened in anger.

"You can not lie to me, I know everything this host knows."

"Yes, of course." Ba'al growled darkly, but then his eyes lit up. "That would mean you know of their weaknesses, if they truly have the weapon of the Ancients...the location of their Alpha Site."

"I know all of that and more." Daniel nodded while the rest of his mind raced at the fact that Ba'al even knew about the existence of the Alpha Site.

"Tell me." Ba'al said eagerly.

"That is something I'd like to keep to myself for the time being." Daniel flashed an arrogant smile.

Once again anger washed over Ba'al's features. He stepped closer to Daniel, staring him down. Daniel hated the fact that every muscle in his body was tense to the point of pain, however he managed not to look away from Ba'al's challenge. When Daniel didn't flinch Ba'al composed himself and chuckled. 

"You still do not trust our Alliance?"

"I do not."

"Good." Ba'al smiled. "It gives us something in common."

Daniel wasn't sure exactly how to respond so he simply raised one eyebrow in a noncommittal expression. Ba'al seemed satisfied by this and turned his attention to Sam. He ran his fingers through her disheveled hair. Daniel wished he couldn't see her trembling, he doubt that it was an act. He was terrified himself, he just wasn't allowed to show it.

"I do appreciate the gift." Ba'al said sincerely. "I am a little surprised that you are so willing to give her up."

"I believe I already made my feelings clear on the subject." Daniel shrugged. 

"There's nothing senseless about revenge." Ba'al hissed defensivly.

Ba'al's tone once more chilled Daniel's blood. He knew what Ba'al was about to do, and he had to physically bite his tounge to keep from asking him not to. Daniel watched helpessly as Ba'al spread out his hand above his friend and bathed her in the torturous yellow light of the hand device. 

Sam whimpered in pain. Hypnotized by the glowing stone that sang to her nerves she panted for breath. Daniel's stomach knotted in sympathy, he knew the feeling brought on by the hand device all too well. What he had always hated the most about the encounters with the device was the panic it brought about when you found yourself unable to move, unable to even truly cry out despite the internal agony.

Daniel's mind raced as he tried to think of some way to stop Ba'al without revealing himself. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Gabriel rubbing at his chest over his heart. Gabriel's motion brought on a whole new urgency to the situation. It had never occurred to him that Gabriel wouldn't be able to physically handle the stress of this.

"Ba'al, I do not have time for your obsession with this Tau'ri female." Daniel finally said in an irritated tone. "I am here for a reason, you can play your games later."

Ba'al looked up with an unreadable expression on his face. After a tense moment he broke his contact with Sam. Suddenly released she pitched forward, catching herself with her hands. Daniel looked down at her as she fought to bring herself back under control. He rolled his eyes and glared at Ba'al impatiently.

"You are right, Anshar, business should always come before pleasure." Ba'al chuckled. "However, first things must also come first."

"First things?" Daniel asked warily.

"I do not wish to discuss business on an empty stomach." Ba'al announced. "Will you do me the honour of dining with me?"

"I would rath..."

"I was not speaking to you, Anshar." Ba'al corrected. "I _expect_ you to be at the table, out of respect if nothing else."

Reaching down Ba'al tangled his hand in Sam's hair and forced her to her feet. He wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her against him. Sam arched her back to keep as much distance between them as she could. 

"It is Samantha here who has the choice to make." Ba'al purred. "Will you join us?" 

"I'd rather starve." Sam spat.

"Trust me, your other option is a far worse fate than starvation." 

Daniel strained to keep his expression one of mere irritation as Ba'al leaned in closer to Sam. She put her hands on his chest to push him away, but he was far stronger than her. He whispered something in her ear that Daniel couldn't hear. However the way she paled told him everything he needed to know. Ba'al drew away from her ear and looked at her expectantly.

"On second thought," Sam forced a smile "to hell with the diet."

"Good girl."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Daniel sat at one end of a fair sized marble table with Ba'al sitting at the other end. Sam sat sullenly in the middle to one side, looking around as though she was bored. Gabriel stood behind Daniel the way a butler at a five star restaurant would.

A meal had been placed before them by human slaves and now a young woman was pouring some dark red wine into the metal cup in front of Daniel. The meek slave filled both Ba'al's and Sam's glasses as well before slinking off. Following Ba'al's lead Daniel reached out and took the glass. Gabriel leaned in close to Daniel's ear before he drank.

"Brace yourself." Gabriel whispered in his ear.

"For what?" Daniel replied almost inaudibly.

"The drink...just...pretend to enjoy it."

"What is i..."

Daniel was cut off as Sam violent spat a mouth full of the deep ruby coloured drink across the table. In a very unlady like move she spat into the cup a few more times to try and rid herself of the taste.

"What the hell is that?" Sam demanded.

"Hemosary." Ba'al replied before drinking deeply from his own cup. "It is the finest available."

"Tastes like blood." Sam replied distastefully.

"It is, fermented of course." Ba'al purred. "This vintage was from a young female...virgin I believe."

"You're disgusting." Sam hissed.

"And yet drinking the fluid from the teat of a cow is acceptable?" Ba'al asked with a raised eyebrow. "It is all a matter of culture, Samantha. Anshar, I know this is your favourite, does this bottle pass your tastes?"

Daniel couldn't help but to pale a little. He brought the metal cup to his lips and told himself he'd imbibed some amazingly disgusting things in his time in the interest of 'cultural respect'. He knew he couldn't just knock it back like a cheap whiskey. So with a great deal of will he sampled the putrid liquid as though it was a fine wine.

The liquid didn't have a taste, it had a sensation instead. It was akin to being kicked in the face by a mule. Knowing he'd regret it Daniel swallowed the thick blood based drink. He smiled to keep from retching.

"It is indeed fine." Daniel managed to lie.

"Excellent." Ba'al said with a self satisfied smile.

The meal itself was far more palatable although whenever he thought his system could handle it Daniel forced himself to drink from the cup again. Sam didn't eat anything, she just played idly with the heavy silverware. Halfway through dinner Ba'al finally broke the silence.

"So, Anshar, which fleet do you desire?"

"Enki's." Daniel answered without hesitation. He had been waiting for this question.

"Of course, I should have guess that." Ba'al chuckled. "You still hold a grudge against him?"

"I do."

"Very well. I shall send enough force to over take him and his Jaffa and ships shall be yours. That along with my blessing will be more than enough to end your long Exile. And of course in return..."

Ba'al trailed off, making Daniel nervous. This was the one piece of information that Anshar had not shared with Gabriel. They had no idea what Ba'al was expecting as a reward. Ba'al stared expectantly at Daniel.

"I will give you whatever you want in return." Daniel said vaguely.

"But you already know what I want."

Daniel slung an arrogant smile across his face to try and buy himself some more time. He thought of something that would push his luck with Ba'al's temper, but it was the only way.

"I'd like to hear you ask for it once more." Daniel replied condescendingly.

"Fine." Ba'al growled through clenched teeth. "I want the formula for the serum you use to halt symbiot maturity."

"Yes," Daniel nodded as if he'd known all along "it is a powerful thing. You get to keep your slaves without having to worry about breeding a new competitor in their bellies."

"I do not fear competition!" Ba'al roared. "However there are other advantages to your serum."

Daniel remained calm through out Ba'al's outburst. He even managed to reach out and take another sip of the sickening drink while he waited for the Goa'uld to compose himself once again. When Ba'al sat back in his chair Daniel smiled like a cat with a mouse under his paw. He suddenly had another idea.

"I want something more than just Enki's fleet." Daniel said suddenly.

Gabriel seemed just as shocked as Ba'al and leaned in to whisper in Daniel's ear. Daniel jerked away and snarled at Gabriel to put him back in his place. Gabriel muttered an apology and resumed his post. Ba'al studied Daniel for a moment and then smiled. Holding her breath Sam took turns looking at each of the men.

"You wish to raise your price?" Ba'al asked in a dangerous tone.

"Yes."

"What do you want?"

"Full access to all of your research."

Daniel could hear Gabriel suppressing a sputtering gasp, but chose to ignore him. It was a brazen move, but it would allow him to get this mission over with quickly. Ba'al leaned back in his chair and put his hands together in thought. Seeming to come to a decision he folded his napkin and placed it on the table.

"Of course for such a thing I will expect more compensation in return."

"Name your price."

"First, I want the technology behind your healing ring."

"I shall build you one." Daniel said before Gabriel could stop him.

"You are losing your mind in your old age, Anshar." Ba'al chuckled. "It happened to Yu, it is happening to you to."

"'You' built him one already." Gabriel whispered to Daniel.

"Of course," Daniel said as though it had simply slipped his mind "you already have one."

"Yes, but I don't know how it works, so I can not reproduce it."

"I shall show you." Daniel smiled.

Ba'al narrowed his eyes, clearly believing that this was too easy and that he could get away with more. Sam began to act disinterested even though she was absorbing every word of it. While the men were busy staring each other down she slipped a silver knife from the table.

"I also wish to know everything you have learned from Daniel Jackson."

"He thinks your an arrogant prick with an inferiority complex, and that the only way you rose so high was by being Anubis's dog."

Sam couldn't help the quick giggle that escaped her lips. Daniel couldn't see the expression of horror on Gabriel's face, but he could feel it. Ba'al ground his teeth in silent fury, however he calmed himself and forced a smile.

"I was thinking more along the lines of whether or not they have possession of the Ancient Weapon."

"They do." Daniel confirmed. "But they do not know how to use it."

"What?"

"The first time was just a fluke." Daniel explained. "This 'O'Neill' was possessed by the Ancient Knowledge and he fired the weapon. But the Knowledge has been taken from him. The weapon can not be fired, the Tau'ri are helpless."

Daniel was so proud of the way Sam let a tiny smile slip before she straightened her face once more. Ba'al noticed the flicker of a smile and he watched her suspiciously. He turned his attention back to Daniel, who just stared blankly back at him.

"You lie." Ba'al growled. "Samantha here betrays you, she clearly wishes that I fall for this and try to attack the Tau'ri, only to be killed."

"No," Daniel countered "she is cunning and wishes you to believe that I am lying so that you will leave her pathetically weak world alone."

"So I must trust one of you?"

"I have nothing to gain from your death."

"You would have a better chance of taking this Galaxy."

"I do not want it."

"What?" Ba'al asked shocked.

"When we have conducted our business here I am going to take my fleet to a new Galaxy...the Pegasus. You can have this one...we will both be happy."

Once more Ba'al thought over Daniel's words. He wanted to believe him, it was written on his face. It would be the perfect situation for them both. Coming to a decision Ba'al took a deep drink from his glass and then smiled.

"What of the location of the Alpha Site?" Ba'al asked.

Daniel paused on this one. He was afraid to simply make up an Address in case Ba'al knew that it wasn't valid or knew the location and that nothing was there. On the other hand revealing its actual location would be a death sentence to anyone who was there and all of the research.

Daniel started to simply lie when chaos broke out. Sam moved so quickly all Daniel saw was a flash of silver. Ba'al roared in pain as he pushed himself away from the table. Daniel did the same, knocking Gabriel back into the wall.

When Sam leapt up and bolted for the door Daniel rushed after her so that the guards wouldn't have reason to hurt her. He snatched her wrist and spun her around to face him. Without hesitation she tried to slap him with her free hand. Daniel easily caught her other wrist as well and for a moment everything was still.

A brief sad smile touched the corners of Sam's lips. Daniel was trying to figure out what she meant by it when suddenly his vision exploded with a blinding flash of colours. Sam had head butted him with so much force that he released her and staggered back.

Sam was free, but not for long. Ba'al had recovered and walked over to the pair. Sam lashed out to rip the dinner knife from the front of Ba'al's shoulder where it was still embedded. Ba'al calmly trapped Sam's wrist in his large hand. He looked down at the knife and then back at his captive.

Daniel's stomach turned more violently than when he had drunk the Hemosary as he heard the delicate bones in Sam's wrist grind together and break in Ba'al's powerful grip. She made no noise, but her whole frame had tensed and frozen. Gabriel had gotten up and came to stand by Daniel's side.

"My Lord Ba'al," Gabriel said respectfully "I am so sorry that I was not quick enough to prevent this. Please allow me to take her to a cell where she will not bother your meeting with Lord Anshar further."

"That will not be necessary..."

"Xian." Gabriel provided.

"That will not be necessary, Xian." Ba'al smiled coldly. "She will not bother us again tonight."

Daniel turned away, pretending to simply go back to his seat. There was nothing he could do, no words he could say that would make sense to stop what was about to happen. Sam had known when she had use the knife to distract Ba'al from the Alpha Site that this would be the outcome. She had let Daniel know that with her brief look of sad resignation.

Sam's cry was little more than a whimper. It was the sound of her collapsing to the floor that made Daniel fight against the sting of tears. Gabriel had followed Daniel's lead and had not watched. Heavy footsteps of the Jaffa guards suddenly entered and then exited once again.

Ba'al walked back around the table with the gory knife in his hand. He picked up his silk napkin and casually wiped the blood off the blade. He laid it down carefully and looked up at Daniel with a smile. Daniel glanced over at the floor as though mildly interested and saw nothing more than a pool of blood. The Jaffa had already taken her away to be resurrected.

"Now then," Ba'al smiled brightly "where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?"

"We were just about to come to an agreement."

"Ah, yes." Ba'al purred.

"Do we have a deal?"

"I believe that we do."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-one 

Standing in front of an ornate gold sink Daniel splashed water on his face after having been violently sick for the past ten minutes. He had barely managed to keep his stomach under control in Ba'al's presence. Once in the privacy of his new quarters he'd quickly lost what little he had eaten. 

Having found a towel he rubbed off both the water and the garish eye shadow. It was the cracking sound of Sam's breaking wrist, replaying in his mind like a bad song, that was making it hard for him to keep even his empty stomach settled. Still a little unsteady he walked out into the main bedroom where Gabriel was waiting. 

"Can't hold your Hemosary, eh?" Gabriel asked with a slight chuckle.

Daniel lashed out at Gabriel with a speed and strength that took them both by surprise. Daniel grabbed the front of Gabriel's shirt and slammed him against the wall hard enough to knock his breath away. With Gabriel pinned to the wall Daniel fought to regain his temper. 

If Gabriel had struggled against him at all he knew he would have been unable to keep himself from beating the Goa'uld senseless. As it was Gabriel stayed motionless as a kitten being held by the scruff of the neck.

"I'm sorry." Gabriel apologized meekly. "O'Neill's use of humour in these kinds of situations always seems to help you."

"Yeah, well, you're not Jack." Daniel growled as he let Gabriel go.

"No, I'm not." Gabriel admitted with a sad smile. "However, speaking of him...if you don't contact him soon he's going to come over here to find out what's happening for himself."

"I know." Daniel sighed heavily.

"Would you like me to find somewhere else to be for a while?"

"Please try and find where Sam is."

"I can tell you exactly where she is."

"Then make sure that Ba'al isn't there with her." 

Gabriel gave Daniel a shallow bow in exactly the same way Teal'c would have and left the room without another word. He wasn't sure what he expected Gabriel to do if Ba'al was tormenting Sam, but he trusted him to think of something. He was confident that Gabriel would do anything in his power to protect her. It was the one thing Daniel knew he could count on, even if Jack didn't. 

Taking a quick look around Daniel riffled through his things until he found the Goa'uld communicator. He felt safe using it because Goa'uld never seemed to put any effort into surveillance. It wasn't their style.

"Jack?" 

"Damn it, Daniel." Came the instant response. "What the hell took you so long?!"

"You know how Ba'al is with his need for ceremony."

"True, at times his speeches were more painful than any of the other tricks in his twisted arsenal."

Daniel smiled at the fact that Jack had quickly recovered from what must have been an hour of sheer panic. He knew that it was driving his friend insane that he had to sit this one out and simply wait. 

"How's Carter?" Jack asked as casually as he could.

"Gabriel's looking after her."

"That doesn't make me feel any better." Jack grumbled. "This is a nightmare."

"Jack, you'd be so proud of how well she's handling herself."

"Just...just try not to get her killed too many times." Jack sighed. 

"We're doing the best we can."

"I take that to mean she's already dead."

"Ja..."

"Don't lie to me, Daniel."

The icy tone in Jack's voice made Daniel pause. He wasn't going to tell Jack what had happened, because he didn't think it would help. However, lying wouldn't help either.

"I'm sorry, Jack...there was nothing I could do."

"What happened?" Jack asked quietly.

"She attacked Ba'al when he asked me something that I couldn't answer to distract him. There is a very good chance that this mission would be over already if she hadn't acted as she did. She knew exsactly what she was doing."

Jack made no response. For several minutes there was no signs that Jack had even heard him. Daniel would have preferred a healthy round of verbal abuse. When he couldn't take the silence any longer he broke it himself.

"Jack?" Daniel asked in concern.

"Remind me to get her promoted when she gets back."

Daniel was surprised by Jack's reaction at first. However Daniel quickly realized that he shouldn't have expected anything less. Jack's ability to keep himself calm helped ease Daniel's own tension and self doubt. In the past Daniel had felt that Jack's attitude toward these types of situations was always too confident, too cavalier and brash. He realized now that it was exactly these qualities that made Jack the brilliant leader that he was. 

"Jack, I need you to do something for me." Daniel changed the subject suddenly.

"Anything."

"I need you to evacuate and abandon the Alpha Site."

"Make that 'almost anything'."

"Jack, I'm serious."

"Care to explain why I'd give an order as insane as scraping a multi-billion dollar project?" Jack asked irritably.

"Because I'm about to tell Ba'al where it is."

There was no witty remark from the small device in Daniel's hand this time. Even though Jack was still on Anshar's ship Daniel could see him rubbing at the bridge of his nose, counting to ten, and trying to think of more ways to say 'no'. Under any other circumstances Daniel would have smiled at the fact that he knew his friend well enough to practically hear his thoughts at times.

"Daniel...no." 

"Jack, I have to. I need someth..."

"Daniel, stop. I can see where you're going with this. But you do realize that if you give that Snake the Alpha Site location we will be putting all of our eggs into one basket and then counting them before they hatch."

"I know."

"There has to be a better way."

"This is it. This is the better way. If I don't gain Ba'al's trust I'm going to have to try and steal the information we need. Which is about as probable as just coming up with the key to recoding Goa'uld DNA on my own within the next ten minutes."

"That doesn't sound very likely...even for you."

"No, but I've got a deal started where Ba'al is going to _give_ me the research if I give him something in return. However, right now he isn't going to let me near his lab without at least some small token of good faith."

"Daniel, the Alpha Site isn't a small token...it could be Earth's last saving grace."

"No, getting rid of the Goa'uld is the only thing that will ever save us."

"Can't you give him something else? Anything else?"

"I've already told him about the Ancient Weapon, but he doesn't believe me and he isn't willing to test it out."

"You don't think he'll be a wee bit suspicious when he gets to the Alpha Site and everyone is gone?" Jack countered.

"No." Daniel replied confidently. "If you honestly believed I had been compromised by a Goa'uld what would be the first thing you would do?"

"Get you back."

"Jack, seriously."

"Okay, fine," Jack grumbled "I would make sure that any information you had was as useless as possible."

"Which would include immediately abandoning the Alpha Site."

"I would still try to get you back." Jack chuckled.

"And I appreciate that."

"If nothing more than to wring your neck for ruining 350 billion dollars worth of secret."

"Wow...really?" Daniel asked in surprise. "350 billion?"

"And rising...well not for long."

"Does that mean you'll do it?"

"I'm still thinking."

"Jack..."

"Have you figured out what Ba'al wanted from Anshar in the first place?" Jack interrupted.

"Yes and no." Daniel admitted. "He wants the formula that halts symbiot maturation. Unfortunately, that secret..."

"Died along with Anshar." Jack finished in frustration. "Can't you or Gabriel just make something up?"

"Now is not the time nor the place to be underestimating Ba'al's intelligence."

"I still don't see why we can't just grab him and use Gabriel's little memory disk to get what we need."

"Jack, violence isn't always the best way. In fact in this case it's sure to get us killed. Ba'al isn't the kind of creature one just 'grabs'. Even if we managed to somehow get him and drag him all the way onto Anshar's ship we would still have his entire fleet to contend with, in ships more advanced than our own. Also the nature of this information is such that I doubt something as simple as a memory device would be enough for us to even begin to understand it, if those disks even work on a Goa'uld as old as powerful as Ba'al."

"...was that rehearsed?"

"...maybe."

Silence fell over the pair. Daniel knew he was asking for a lot. It wasn't going to be as simple as Jack calling up and telling them to evacuate. He was going to have to lie, he was going to have to say that the location had leaked unintentionally, and the only explanation for that would be that Sam broke. 

Beyond blaming Sam for something she'd never do, it also meant that Jack would be liable for treason if the truth ever came to light. Knowingly allowing the enemy access to such a target would not be something that the Air Force would take lightly. Particularly when the only reason for the leak was the 'say so' of a civilian Archeologist. 

Even if the truth was never known it could be a career ending move. If nothing good came of this plan the U.S government would be on a witch hunt for someone to blame for the loss, and the choice was a painfully obvious one. 

Once the Alpha Site fell into Ba'al's hands this mission would instantly become an 'all or none' situation. If they didn't come back heroes, they'd return as criminals, assuming they managed to return at all. However, Daniel wasn't worried about any of that right now.

"Jack?"

"I hope you know what you're doing, Daniel."

"For once in my life...I think I do."


	22. Chapter 22

NOTE from the Phoenix: Just before writting this I discovered that my idenity had been stolen...which put me in a violent mood...sorry Sam.

Chapter Twenty-two

"I must admit that part of me admires you."

Sam wasn't really listening to Ba'al's compliment. She was just trying to survive his game with her sanity intact. Ba'al had one hand wrapped around her waist and was pressing it against her lower back to force her to stay close. With the other hand he held the back of her neck.

He wasn't wearing a hand device, he had something else. She didn't know what it was, but she had quickly figured out what it did. Ba'al smiled coldly and increased his hold on her neck slightly. The action triggered something that drove a scorching pain down her back.

She's lost count of how many times he'd done this. Growing weaker and already in tears Sam's cry was almost inaudible this time. He eased his grip on her neck and the pain instantly died away.

"The other part of me thinks you're simply stubborn and foolish." Ba'al growled darkly. "Why won't you say one simple word?"

Sam couldn't keep her thoughts straight, she wasn't even sure what word he was looking for. She didn't bother to try and remember the question, there was nothing he could do to make her answer it anyway. She just braced herself for him to try again.

Ba'al did not disappoint, nor did he seem to lose his temper. He calmly held her as her frame tensed in anguish again. He didn't release her as quickly from the fiery grip this time. When it truly started to become unbearable Sam futilely pushed against his chest to try and escape.

Knowing she'd soon pass out Ba'al stopped. While Sam panted for breath he forced her whole body against his so that he could whisper in her ear. He waited a moment to make sure she was paying attention.

"This really isn't necessary you know." Ba'al purred softly.

Rather than listen Sam wondered where Daniel and Gabriel were. Although she couldn't be sure of time on the ship she felt that they had been here for at least two days and this was the first time that Ba'al had found time for her. Her hope was that this was actually a good sign and that they were gathering the information they needed.

She repeated that last thought to herself, using it to help her fight the urge to ask Ba'al what it was he wanted. Although she was slowly starting to wonder if there would be any harm in it, after all if their plan worked Ba'al wouldn't be able to make use of any of it.

Ba'al was nothing if not patient. He eased his hold on her and let Sam arch away enough so that he could see her face. He watched her while she battled with her own thoughts. When he saw a flicker of indecision in her vacant stare he smiled.

"All you have to do is ask me to stop. I don't want any information, Anshar has been telling me everything I want to know." Ba'al chuckled. "I just want to hear you say 'please'."

Fairly sure that she had just hallucinated his request Sam didn't answer. Ba'al didn't wait as long for her to think over his words this time. The way his teeth suddenly showed in a callous smile caused Sam's already labouring heart to race faster. Still smiling Ba'al dug his fingers into the back of Sam's neck.

It was different this time. The change was so intense that at first all she could do was gasp as her back arched dangerously close to the point of breaking. Her weariness had suddenly been replaced by an energy that she couldn't put to any other use than screaming. Moments later the terrifying sensation started to slowly ebb away, however, just when she thought she had made it through it he started again.

"Stop..."

"What was that?"

"Stop...please."

Ba'al instantly released her. Not expecting to be standing on her own Sam quickly found herself on the floor. Ba'al took the device he had been using off and replaced it with a small healing device. Sam just stared at the floor as he reversed the damage he had caused.

"That wasn't so difficult, was it? You'll find that I can be a very merciful god."

Sam wasn't even going to start arguing with the mad man over his deity status. She was humiliated enough as it was that she had said anything at all. Ba'al didn't seem to mind her silence this time. He tossed the healing device aside and slipped his usual hand device on.

"In fact, I'm feeling particularly merciful today." Ba'al announced cheerfully. "Which is why I'm going to give you a choice of what happens next. But first I want to show you something."

Ba'al reached down to offer Sam his hand to help her to her feet. Slapping the offering away Sam got up on her own. Ba'al simply shrugged and lead her over to the far wall that appeared to be a large screen. Using his hand device he brought up an image of a Earth-like planet.

"Recognize it?"

"No." Sam admitted honestly. "It looks like any number of green worlds."

"Which is what makes it such a perfect place for your Alpha Site."

A look of surprise flashed across Sam's features for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure. There was no way that this was the Alpha Site. Even Daniel wouldn't have gone that far.

"You don't believe me, you think this is a trick."

"That thought crossed my mind."

"Perhaps if we have a closer look."

The view suddenly rushed in, revealing the camouflaged hanger attached to the Base at the Alpha Site. For a moment Sam couldn't even breath.

"What have you done?" Sam whispered in shock.

"Nothing yet." Ba'al answered having misinterpreted who her question was aimed at. "They don't know we're here. Anshar has told me that there are just under a thousand men and women there, and my sensors confirm that."

Sam didn't have a response. Her blood had frozen solid. She couldn't believe that Daniel would have brought him here if he was still in his right mind. The 'marker' is what came to her mind first. What if Daniel had ended up having a reaction to it, what if it had turned him the way Mila and Ez'ri had been poisoned? Seeing that she was lost in thought Ba'al cleared his throat.

"This brings us to the choice I wish to give you: do they live or die? Give me what I want and I'll simply fire some warning shots around them, offering them plenty of time to scurry through the Stargate before I destroy it."

With a flick of Ba'al's hand the screen suddenly had a bright red outline of the underground Base super imposed on it. Sam couldn't help but stare at it, it was perfect, every room in the facility clearly and accurately shown.

"Or I can hit the Base...here," Ba'al said pointing to the glowing map "where the Stargate is. Anyone who survives will be captured so that you can personally watch their executions."

Sam still didn't have a response. Ba'al smiled brightly and leaned in close once more.

"You have friends down there." Ba'al hissed in her ear. "One particularly close one, Amber I believe her name is. Major Amber Wies...how many months pregnant is she? Six or seven from what Jackson's mind tells Anshar..."

"What do you want?" Sam whispered in defeat.

"You know what I want, Samantha."

Sam ground her teeth together so tightly the muscles of her neck suddenly became defined. She wasn't sure if Ba'al would keep his word, but she knew she had to try. Taking a deep breath Sam knelt down on the cold stone floor. She was surprised how much harder it was to swallow her pride than to sacrifice her own life.

"You accept me as you god?"

"I do...Lord Ba'al."

"I know you don't mean a word of that." Ba'al chuckled.

"No...I don't." Sam admitted.

"That's okay, it is rewarding enough just to hear you say it, just to see the fire taken out of your eyes."

"Does that mean you'll give them time to escape?"

"I don't have to." Ba'al shrugged. "There is no one there."

"What?"

"Clearly the site was abandoned when O'Neill realized that Jackson was taken as a host."

Sam closed her eyes in a mixture of relief and anger at herself for not thinking of that before. She didn't know how Daniel had convinced Jack to sacrifice the Alpha Site, but clearly he had. Ba'al's laughter grated against her nerves as he stepped up and ran his hand through her hair. She had to force herself to stay on her knees and not to leap for his throat.

"That was fun." Ba'al beamed.

"I'm glad I could be of some entertainment value." Sam snarled.

"Yes, I will forever cherish the memory of you at my feet like a beaten dog." Ba'al mocked. "Of course the question now is: what am I going to do with you?"

"If you're looking for suggestions I've got a few."

"I'm sure you do." Ba'al smiled. "However, now that I know Anshar can at least be trusted enough to give me information on the Tau'ri I have to confess that I can't think of what use you are to me anymore. But I'm going to be fair, I'm going to give you twenty-four hours."

"For what?"

"To give me a reason not to execute you."


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-three

Looking around Ba'al's lab Daniel tried his hardest to stifle a yawn. Gabriel was working at one of the large consoles, however he stopped and looked up at Daniel in concern. Daniel forced a smile, but it didn't seem to put the undead Goa'uld at ease.

"Daniel, when was the last time you got some sleep?"

"Just a few hours ago."

"That was barely a cat nap." Gabriel admonished. "I meant when was the last time you really slept?"

"I don't know...when did all of start? Eight...nine years ago?"

"I'm serious."

"Who says I'm not?"

Gabriel scowled at Daniel who stared spitefully back at him. Trying to calm his flaring temper Gabriel pushed his chair away from the work station and pulled his hands through his hair. The days of being 'friendly' with Ba'al, keeping him occupied while they traveled to the Alpha Site, had taken a heavy toll on both of them.

"You might as well get some rest." Gabriel suggested. "This is going to take me all night, and probably all of tomorrow as well."

"I can't believe he let us in here." Daniel mused.

"He never would have if you hadn't talked Jack into sacrificing the Alpha Site."

"Let's just hope it pays off." 

"If you let the lids under your eyes get a darker shade of blue than the ones above from not sleeping Ba'al's going to know something is wrong."

Daniel started to protest, but realized that he simply didn't have the strength. Gabriel was right, he could feel his mind slowing down from the lack of sleep. Not wanting to leave Daniel simply laid down with his back against the wall. Gabriel watched him till he fell asleep and went back to the Goa'uld computer.

It felt like only seconds had passed, however, the stiffness in Daniel's neck told him that he'd been asleep for hours. As much as he hated to admit that Gabriel had been right, he did feel a lot sharper both mentally and physically. He got up and walked over to where Gabriel still worked.

"Find anything?" 

"An incredible amount of information on the Tok'ra. He knows where almost all of the important outpost are, their back up plans, about fifty of their undercover agents...Ba'al could bring the Tok'ra to their knees very easily."

"So why doesn't he?" 

"That part isn't in here." Gabriel admitted. 

Looking around at the amount of ambient light Daniel could tell that it was 'mid morning' on the Gou'ald ship. Another night had passed and they still didn't seem close to leaving. Daniel hadn't been able to see Sam since the first night, and it worried him not to know what Ba'al was up to now. 

"I hope Sam's alright." Daniel sighed. 

"If I know Ba'al he's far too busy crawling around your Alpha Site to be worrying about her."

"And do you know Ba'al?" 

"Enough to know he's not your average Goa'uld. Now that Anshar is dead Ba'al may be the last of his kind."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Yes and no. I mean you have to admire the fact that Ba'al wants to discover things on his own rather than just steal the tecnology. His curiosity actually reminds me of you."

"If you ever say that again, I will kill you."

"Think about it, Daniel, he doesn't just want things to work, he wants to know how they work and where they came from. You should have seen him when I explaining the healing ring workings to him...I had his full and undivided attention."

"Great." Daniel sighed. "An intelligent Goa'uld."

"Intelligent enough to security lock and encrypt what I'm looking for." Gabriel muttered as he continued to work with the computer. "I think I've found where the information is, but I can't seem to get in."

"We never really thought he was just going to hand over the key to gene editing." 

"No." Gabriel agreed. "We're just lucky that he really, really, really wants that formula of Anshar's and has let us get this far."

"Didn't Anshar realize that Ba'al would have just killed him once he got it?"

"That is always a risk when dealing with Goa'uld." Gabriel shrugged.

"How would Anshar have protected himself? I only ask because at the moment we don't really have a clear exit strategy ourselves."

"Well, recall that Anshar wanted a fleet, a fairly powerful one at that. He would have arranged to take over the fleet and Ba'al would have arranged to have an equal sized fleet to be there and then Anshar would give him the formula and they would go their separate ways."

"I guess we could try that."

"I'm hoping we don't have to stay around that long. It will probably be a month before Ba'al's fleet finds and defeats Enki...not to mention that they would also exchange First Primes as hostages until everyone was sure the deal had been honoured."

"There is no way Jack is going to wait a month." 

"But he'd hand me over to Ba'al."

"In a heartbeat." Daniel smiled. "Okay, let's not worry about that right now. I can probably beat the encryption, given enough time. So if we can just get to it and download it on a Crystal we can get out of here. But how are we going to get past the security?"

"I really only know one person other than Ba'al who could pull it off."

"Sam." 

"I don't understand Goa'uld computer systems well enough, they are well beyond my time. But Sam's been working with them for years, and I don't have to tell you how good she is at it."

"No, you don't." Daniel looked around with his brow knit in thought. "Do you think she could talk you through it?"

"You mean smuggle a communication device to her?" Gabriel mused. "That might work."

"I would think that it would be less risky than trying to bring her in here."

"Very true." Gabriel nodded in agreement. "I will attempt to set that up, I've got quite a bit of freedom around here."

"Good. I'll go and touch base with Jack."

Gabriel nodded his agreement and got up from his place at the console. Daniel waited until he had gone before heading back to his own room. He dug the small communication device out and clicked it on.

"Jack. ...Jack?" 

When a minute passed without a response Daniel started to worry. He wasn't used to not instantly getting an answer. He repeated his call again, but still got no answer. Daniel frowned, not knowing what else to do. 

After fifteen minutes of radio silence Daniel decided to hide the device once more and go look for Ba'al. When he opened the door Gabriel had just arrived, looking unusually pale, even for a zombie. 

"Gabriel?"

"Daniel...we have a new problem."

"Sam..."

"Ba'al is going to have her executed in about six hours."

"What?!"

"Now that he has the Alpha Site he gave her twenty-four hours to think of a reason to keep her alive."

"Well let's give him a reason!" Daniel cried. "What would make him happy?"

"It would have to be something that she knows that you don't."

"That's a really long list." Daniel pointed out.

"Yeah, but Ba'al isn't interested in physics, mathematics, or Air Force regulations." Gabriel replied. "And he already knows more than he needs to about Gate programming and hyperdrives."

"I don't suppose botany interests him." Daniel sighed.

"What?"

"Plants, Sam's really good with plants."

"Somehow I don't think that's going to be enough." Gabriel replied with a sad smile. "In the end it really isn't a question of what she knows, Ba'al has already made up his mind to kill her."

"He just wanted to give her time to think about it." Daniel growled darkly. "Gabriel I don't care how important this mission is, I'm not just going to stand by while Ba'al murders Sam for good."

"Neither am I." Gabriel assured. 

"Can she talk you past the security in less than six hours?"

"I didn't even get to see her." Gabriel admited.

"We need to do something."

"I've got one idea...it's crazy."

"Any crazier than what we've done so far?"

"Not really, it's just that timing is going to have to spot on."

"So what's the plan?"

"We ne..."

Gabriel stopped as Ba'al made himself known outside the door. Daniel panicked for a moment. However he quickly slipped back into his role of Anshar and had Gabriel answer the door. 

Ba'al stepped in the room with the smile of a good mood on his face. Behind him were two Jaffa who held a human between them. Stripped to the waist the athletically built man stood with his head bowed. He started to tremble as the Jaffa forced him into Daniel's room. One of the Jaffa growled something in his ear and he obediently knelt down. Ba'al looked at Daniel with his eyes bright with excitement.

"What is this?" Daniel snarled in his resounding voice.

"A gift." Ba'al purred. "A younger, stronger host. From a pure bloodline. Also one more in line with your former appearance."

Daniel looked to Gabriel for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Gabriel helped cue Daniel's next move by narrowing his eyes in anger very slightly. Daniel reached out and titled the man's head back to see his face. Tears were streaming from his dark green eyes, but he remained silent.

"This is an insult!" Daniel hissed as he pulled his hand away. 

"An insult?" Ba'al replied confused. "He is one of the finest available."

"You wish only to have my current host to torture for information...to see if I have been lying to you."

"I know that you have not been lying to me." Ba'al replied calmly. "I have the Alpha Site below our feet to prove it."

"I am comfortable where I am." Daniel growled.

"Of course, my apologies, I honestly did not mean to offend." Ba'al granted Daniel a shallow bow. He looked down at the pitiful creature on his knees. "Jaffa!"

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Kill him."

"Wait." Daniel said without thought.

Gabriel looked like he might pass out at any moment. Ba'al eyed Daniel suspiciously.

"You have changed your mind?" Ba'al asked.

"No," Daniel paused "however it has been centuries since I have had a human slave."

"They do have their uses." Ba'al nodded. "However, this man is feral, he has not been raised to be loyal."

"Perhaps that can be changed."

Ba'al looked down at the man and shrugged. Daniel reached down and tilted the young man's head back once more. He was still shaking, but had seemed to have lost some of his fear. Daniel swallowed hard, knowing his next words were going to be difficult to say.

"Are you prepared to accept me as your god?" The words left a bitter taste in Daniel's mouth. 

It was instantly clear that this man already had loyalties that he was not willing to part with. With the speed of a lion he leapt to his feet. Daniel instinctively raised his hands to defend himself. He did not wish to harm the man, he had every reason for his rage, however he didn't wish to be harmed himself. 

The hand device that Daniel wore reacted to his will. Instead of its usual orange glow the stone at his palm flashed a brilliant blue. Bathed in the aqua glow the murderous human calmed instantly. He stood motionless in the light for a moment before returning to his knees and granting Daniel a grateful smile.

It had been like the hand device had instantly told the man of Daniel's true intentions, or possibly it just removed his anger. Either way Daniel hadn't been aware that hand devices could do anything like that.

Pretending as though nothing was wrong Daniel turned to Ba'al and Gabriel and found them both frozen in shock. Gabriel's expression was one of pure horror. Ba'al on the other hand had a look of surprise that degraded into a rage that was quickly replaced by a frightening look of triumph. 

Everything happened so quickly that Daniel had no time to react let alone figure out why things had suddenly gone wrong. Once he'd shaken off his shock Gabriel leapt at Ba'al, who was more than ready for him. Gabriel was easily knocked back by a pulse from Ba'al's hand device. The Jaffa guards descended on him before he even hit the floor. Gabriel strained towards Ba'al again, but was unable to free himself.

"Kill him!" Gabriel screamed at Daniel. 

The order was so contradictory to everything they had been doing that Daniel wasn't quick enough to respond. By the time he noticed that Ba'al had raised his own hand device to use against him it was too late. 

In Daniel's mind there was a brilliant flash of light followed by a velvety dark.


	24. Chapter 24

WARNING: exstremly violent chapter...serious Danny whumping...you have been warned.

Chapter Twenty-four

Daniel's eyes fluttered open as he slowly regained consciousness. His memories just before passing out were vague and unclear. Something had gone wrong, but he didn't know what it was. All he could really remember was Gabriel screaming at him to kill Ba'al. He'd never heard such fear in Gabriel's voice before.

Shaking his head Daniel tried to pull his aching arms closer to his body. Adrenaline smacked him fully awake when he discovered that he was restrained. Finding himself suspended by the wrist he instantly tried to stand. The tops of his bare feet were against the cold floor, however, when he tried to straighten his knees he was rewarded only with a sharp pain. He looked down, but could see little more than his bare chest and the black waistband of his silk pants. Confused by the seemingly sourceless pain he tried once again.

"You will find yourself unable to stand." Ba'al's voice rumbled quietly.

Daniel looked up sharply at Ba'al, who was standing about ten feet away. He was watching him calmly, but without the usual look of arrogant mirth on his face. Risking a look around Daniel found himself tethered to a ring just like the one Gabriel had used to heal Sam's injured hand. He pulled uselessly at the black leather and chain restraints before looking back at Ba'al with a violent white flashing of his blue eyes.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Daniel demanded angrily in Anshar's voice.

"Don't bother with you little act, it's pointless." Ba'al replied calmly. "Now then, where is Anshar?"

"**I **am Anshar!" Daniel spat.

"I don't believe you."

"I do not care what you believe! You will pay for this!"

Ba'al sighed dramatically. Daniel watched him apprehensively as he made his way over to an ornate table and took a glass bottle from it. He carefully removed the silver stopper. Bringing the bottle over to his captive he held it up under his nose. Daniel jerked away from the unpleasant acrid smell.

"This used to be one of my favourite weapons." Ba'al said casually. "I have better methods now, but I might as well get rid of what I have left of it."

"Why are you doing this?" Daniel asked still trying to hold on to his Anshar facade.

"You know exactly what this is about." Ba'al replied as he walked around to stand behind Daniel.

"We had a dea..."

Daniel stopped suddenly with a violent gasp as Ba'al poured the liquid down his back. What started as a icy splash quickly escalated into a searing pain that seeped into his skin and then spread through his chest, eating through his flesh along the way. He ground his teeth together and panted heavily to keep himself from screaming.

It quickly became difficult to breath as the liquid leaked into his veins and turned his blood to a powerful acid. Daniel snarled incoherently in a mixture of pain and anger. When the burning raced up the arteries in his throat Daniel could feel the crushing pressure of death pressing down on him.

Ba'al watched indifferently until his victim's struggling began to weaken. He walked over to the outside edge of the ring and activated it with practiced ease. Having been so close to passing out that his vision had darkened Daniel took a violent deep breath as the ring reversed the damage. When he could hold his head up once more he glared murderously at his tormentor.

"You're a making a mistake." Daniel growled darkly as the pain ebbed away. "I will see you killed for this."

"You are in no position to make threats." Ba'al hissed.

Ba'al stepped up close enough so that Daniel could feel his hot breath on his face. Daniel's heart raced as he heard Ba'al nosily pulling a silver dagger that he kept in a scabbard on his belt. Sweat glistened on his skin causing the blue above his eyes to run and stain his cheeks like painted tears. Daniel held his breath as Ba'al traced the sharp point of the blade against his stomach.

"Where is Anshar?" Ba'al asked quietly.

"I am Anshar." Daniel insisted.

Ba'al's lip curled in frustration. When Daniel still didn't give him the answer he was looking for he forced the knife into his flesh to the hilt. The sheer shock of the brutal injury kept him silent at first. Ba'al waited for the initial reaction to wear off before ripping the blade up the length of Daniel's stomach.

Daniel cried out only to begin choking on the blood and bile that had leapt into his throat. Ba'al held the knife still for a moment before twisting it. Sweat began to drip from Daniel's hair as he trembled. His eyes rolled back as darkness began to claim him once more. Ba'al yanked the blade out and the pain quickly evaporated. The slashing cut had felt like being gutted even though now there was no evidence that anything had occurred.

"The ring has amazing properties." Ba'al purred. "It will keep you alive, no matter what I do. There will be no rest for you, no release...not even death can ease your pain."

"I...I will never..." Daniel panted heavily "never give you the formula you seek if you do not release me immediately."

"You will never give it to me because you do not have it." Ba'al replied confidently. "Only Anshar knows the secret, and I suspect he is dead."

Daniel didn't know what to say next. He was starting to lose his focus. The pain of both the acid and the knife had gone, but the memory of it was still tormenting him. Ba'al ran the blade lightly over Daniel's heart, chuckling softly when he saw the way he tensed in terrified anticipation.

"How did you even escape?"

"Escape?" Daniel repeated confused.

"Yes, tell me."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Ba'al dropped the knife. He grabbed a handful of Daniel's wet hair and jerked his head back violently. Driven by rage Ba'al pulled until Daniel's neck was on the verge of breaking. Daniel swallowed convulsively against the painful stretch. The joints in his wrists and shoulders slowly started to separate as Ba'al placed even more strain on them.

"Do **not** insult my intelligence,_ Gabriel_!"

"Ga...Gabriel?" Daniel stuttered.

"You dare deny it?" Ba'al growled dangerously as he released his hold.

"I don't...I don't even know who that is." Daniel sputtered.

"I grow weary of your lies."

Daniel shook his head as the last of his neck pain was erased by the constant healing of the ring. Although the device was repairing his body his mind was continuing to lose clarity. Ba'al had retreated back to his table giving Daniel a moment to collect his thoughts.

The moment wasn't nearly enough. When Ba'al returned Daniel still didn't understand why the System Lord had gotten it in his head that he was Gabriel. Although he had seemed nearly out of his mind with rage a few minutes ago Ba'al had returned to his usual calm self. He had a large glass of what looked like water that he took a small sip from.

"Your name, Gou'ald...what is it?" Ba'al asked quietly.

Daniel began to give the only name he knew to give. "Ansh..."

Ba'al lashed out and tangled his hand into Daniel's hair once more. Pulling his head back he brought the cup to Daniel's lips and poured it down his throat. With his head tilted so far back he was unable to swallow all of the liquid and it filled his lungs instead.

Worse than pain the asphyxiation brought on a blind panic. Daniel thrashed violently to escape the suffocation, but there was nothing he could do. His rib battled to draw air into his fluid filled lungs as they began to burn. Sensing the oxygen depravation his heart stared pounding harder in a desperate attempt to circulate what little oxygen was left.

"The ring can only help you so much without air." Ba'al informed. "Eventually the fluid will be absorbed and you will breath again. First however I believe you will experience a cataleptic spasm. Do you know what that is?"

Daniel couldn't have answered even if he'd wanted to. He couldn't breath, let alone speak or even whimper. His arms and legs were numbing as the body sacrificed them to keep his heart and brain supplied with oxygen as his blood slowly turned to carbonic acid.

"A cataleptic spasm," Ba'al said conversationally "is when the muscles stiffen exactly at the point of death. It is rare, usually associated with violent, emotional deaths...such as drownings."

Tears slipped from Daniel's eyes as he struggled one last time to draw air into his congested chest. Every last ounce of adrenaline he had poured into his blood to try and stop the inevitable. Even though death was a heartbeat away his mind was racing, his instincts practically screaming at him to just take a breath. With a shudder his heart finally failed and stopped.

Past the point of death Daniel had a moment to contemplate if this was what it had been like for Gabriel. The horror of being a living mind trapped in a dead body left Daniel's mind reeling. His thoughts were cut off as the cataleptic spasm Ba'al had told him about suddenly took hold.

The eerie numbness was replaced by a blaze of agony as his muscles all contracted at once. The chains snapped tight as his powerful arms lifted his arching body. Daniel's fingers curled into claws and suddenly everything was frozen.

Fighting to keep him alive the ring slowly managed to pull the liquid from his lungs. The first breath was nothing more than a shallow gasp. However with every passing second breathing became easier and less painful. Once his heart started pounding again the ice in his muscles began to melt.

Ba'al watched until all of the damage had been undone. With his head bowed Daniel drew deep shuddering breaths through his tears. Walking back to the table Ba'al poured himself another glass of seemingly harmless water. Drinking the cool liquid Ba'al stood before Daniel.

"Your name."

"I'm not Gabriel." Daniel whimpered. "I swear...I'm not him."

"There is no one else you could be." Ba'al insisted. "No ordinary Goa'uld could have activated such a powerful aspect of the hand device, only the original Niacine Goa'uld Gabriel could have done such a thing. You **are** Gabriel."

"No...I am not Gabriel." Daniel repeated weakly. "I...I'm not even a Goa'uld."

"What did I say about insulting me?" Ba'al asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's not an insult...it's the truth...I'm just Daniel."

"I can sense you in there." Ba'al snarled. "I'd cut you out of there myself, but you know I fear killing you. I believe it only to be a trick that I would lose my memory if you ever died...but that is not a risk I am willing to take. I'd ask what you were doing here, but honestly I don't care. I just want you safely back in stasis...now come out of there."

Daniel watched as one of Ba'al's Jaffa brought over a gold and glass urn like the one Rea'beka had placed Gabriel in and set it on the floor. He didn't know what to do, all he could think about was the drowning. When Daniel failed to leave his 'host' Ba'al brought the glass closer. Daniel weld his eyes shut and turned away.

"No...no, please don't..." Daniel begged pitifully. "Please..."

"I demand that you abandon this host!" Ba'al roared.

"I can't...I...I'm not a Goa'uld..."

Ba'al snarled in frustration. Daniel cried out in panic as Ba'al tangled his hand into his hair. He fought with the power of a cornered animal, screaming in terror of having to go through the slow death again. However it wasn't enough to stop the powerful Goa'uld. Icy water slid down Daniel's throat once more. As the panic took over his senses he could barely make out Ba'al's words to him.

"You will leave this host or you will both suffer the consequences for the rest of Time."


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-five

Sam had no idea what time it was. She had fallen asleep quickly after her encounter with Ba'al and she had the feeling that she had slept for quite some time. Since waking she hadn't put any effort into thinking about what she was going to give Ba'al in exchange for her life.

At the moment she wasn't planning on telling him anything. She was confident that Gabriel would either stop the execution or rescue her from it afterwards. Right now she was far more concerned about Daniel's mental state. There was no way for her to know if the Alpha Site had been abandoned because he'd asked for it to be or if it was due to O'Neill realizing something was wrong.

Sam sighed heavily and looked around the cell. There was nothing special about it, it could have been any cell on any number of Goa'uld ships. There were no guards outside the grated door. She was alone, and beginning to get bored.

Needing to stretch Sam got up off the floor and paced around. There was a vent on the far wall about five feet off the ground. Even though she knew the grate could not be removed she walked over and tried anyway. 

The distant sounds of a fight suddenly raised the hairs on the back of Sam's neck. She hurried over to the cell door and tried to figure out what was happening. The noise grew louder, like living chaos making its way down the hall. It was a wordless argument, punctuated by horrible cries of animalistic rage. Suddenly the incoherent snarling formed words.

"It's not him, it's me! Please, I can prove it!"

Sam's stomach twisted as she recognized the straining voice as Gabriel's. Two Jaffa that barely had him under control dragged him literally kicking and screaming to the grated cell door. Sam backed away as they opened the door. 

The Jaffa threw Gabriel to the floor but he was back on his feet in seconds. He whipped around and threw himself at the nearest guard. The Jaffa back handed him violently across the temple, drawing blood and dropping him once more the floor. 

Gabriel got to his hands and knees quickly, but seemed unable to go any further. Everything had happened so quickly that Sam did not have time to intervene. Wordlessly the two Jaffa left, closing the heavy door behind them. Gabriel finally made it up and rushed the spot where his attackers had last been. He slammed into the grate as though he hadn't even seen it and stumbled back.

"Xian?" Sam asked, fearing to use his true name.

Gabriel jerked at the sound of her voice and spun around. Sam gasped and back away. His once bright eyes were a milky white, and although most certainly sightless they held a look of murderous rage. Blood both fresh and dried stained the side of his face and marred the white streak in his hair. 

With an insane cry he leapt at her with his hands outstretched like claws. Yelping in surprise Sam jumped to the side. Gabriel missed her and struck the wall, however he did not give up easily. He turned around and lashed out blindly.

"Xian, stop...it's me, it's Sam!" 

The sound of Sam's voice reached Gabriel's ears, but the words did not. He turned towards her and rushed at her like a bull charging a red cape. In the small cell Sam had a hard time keeping one step ahead of him. 

He wailed, striking out again, and by sheer chance caught her upper arm. Sam cried out as he dig his fingers into her flesh with his vice like grip. Gabriel jerked her closer and caught the wrist of her other hand when she tried to push him away. 

"Gabriel!" Sam cried. "Let me go!"

Clearly beyond reason Gabriel forced her back until he had her pined against the wall. He was trembling violently and panting heavily for breath, however, he was still far more powerful than his captive. Fearing that at any moment he was going to go for her throat Sam did the only thing she could think of to stop him.

Welding her eyes shut Sam closed the small gap between them and pressed her lips against Gabriel's in a kiss made passionate by her desperate fear. When she pulled away the change in Gabriel's demeanor was instantaneous. His brow knit in confusion and then his cloudy eyes widened in horror. 

"Sam?"

Sam didn't get a chance to answer. Gabriel released her and backed away violently. With his rage suddenly lifted his strength quickly left him as well. He clutched at his chest as he fell back to his knees. Sam stepped up and knelt in front of him fearlessly.

"Gabriel? What's happening?"

"Sam..." Gabriel whimpered. "Daniel...I have to help him..."

Sam reached out to stop Gabriel as he struggled to get to his feet. He was seconds from collapse, but determined to fight.

"Easy, Gabriel..."

"You don't understand! I can't let his happen!" Gabriel wailed. "Daniel!"

Sam forced Gabriel down on his back as he started to gasp for air. He fought one last time to rise before giving in. Clawing at the stone floor he laboured hard for every breath. Sam pulled his jacket off his shoulder and pulled up on his shirt revealing an arm band that held a few injection pens filled with the bright green serum.

Hoping that it wasn't too late Sam took two of the pens and pushed their sharp tips into Gabriel's throat. Gabriel began to relax but Sam was unsure if it was due to the serum or if he was simply dying. She ran her fingers through his gore stained hair. 

"Stay with me, Gabriel." Sam whispered. 

"Forgive me..."

Tears slipped from the corners of Gabriel's eyes as he finally passed out. Sam put her hand on his chest to make sure that his heart was still beating. She took a deep shuddering breath to try and calm her own nerves. 

Not knowing what else to do Sam sat down so she could rest Gabriel's head on her lap. He slept fitfully, however the blue cast that had tinged his skin was slowly receding. She rubbed as much of the blood off his face as she could and just waited. 

It was hours before Gabriel started to stir. To Sam it had felt like days. He moaned pitifully and tried to open his eyes. After a few attempts he managed to look up at Sam, his eyes a bright emerald once more. She smiled sadly and he forced a smile in return. 

"I'm sorry." Gabriel said instantly. "I never thought this could happen."

"What has happened?"

"Ba'al thinks Daniel is hosting me." Gabriel answered miserably as he struggled to sit up.

"What? How?"

"Daniel proved himself far too skilled at using the hand device. Honestly I was just as shocked as Ba'al. I don't think even I could have done what he did. You know if Daniel wanted to he could rule this Galaxy."

"He doesn't want to."

"I know...which is why I love him as a son more than any of my true Children." Gabriel closed his eyes against his tears. 

"Gabriel?"

"I'm sorry, Sam." Gabriel repeated. "For the first time I wish I was a god...because we need a miracle."

"Ask and ye shall receive." A deep voice suddenly echoed.

Sam looked around, thinking she may have simply hallucinated. Gabriel had suddenly perked up as well, but neither one of them could see anything.

"Sir?"

"Up here."

Sam was still confused until Gabriel touched her shoulder and pointed up at the grated vent. In the darkness of the vent Jack's white smile glittered. He threaded the fingers of one hand through the grate and wiggled a greeting. Sam and Gabriel both got to their feet and hurried over.

"Wha...what are you doing here?" Sam asked in shock.

"Mostly hiding." Jack admitted. 

"Have you seen Daniel?" Gabriel asked anxiously.

"No." 

"We have to get to him."

"I know." Jack replied calmly. "Stand back, Kids."

Gabriel knit his brow in confusion, but Sam knew exactly what was about to happen. She took Gabriel's arm and led him back. Jack mucked about inside the vent for a moment and then could be heard backing away himself. A few seconds later a small C4 charge broke the grate free from the wall. Jack wriggled his way through the new opening and dropped to the floor.

"Alright, Carter, I'm open to suggestions, but I'm thinking that basic search and rescue tactics are our best bet."

"Yes, Sir." Sam said automatically as she took the side arm Jack offered her.

"Do either of you know the condition of the Alpha Site?"

"It's still there." Gabriel confirmed. "Ba'al is far too curious to just destroy it."

"Good. We'll grab Daniel, ring down to the planet and Gate from there. I hear the Gate on this ship has a shield, and Anshar's ship is...no longer safe. So the Alpha Site is our best bet."

"Jack, things are not that simple." Gabriel pointed out.

"The simplest plans are always the best, less chance of something going wrong."

"Yes, but there is an entire ship worth of Jaffa between here, Daniel, and the Gate. Not to mention Ba'al, who is far more powerful than you give him credit for. You'll never make it."

"We have to try."

"No. I...I will go to Ba'al, I can prove my identity to him. The guards had taken me away before I got the chance, but he will listen to me." Gabriel reached up and tore away the false Seal he wore. "The distraction should be enough for you to get Daniel and get out of here. If not I'm sure he will gladly exchange your lives in return for my complete surrender."

"Gabri..."

"Sam, I will not let Daniel suffer for me, and I will not let you two die trying to rescue him." Gabriel said even though he was visibly shaking. "This will give the three of you the best chance, I have to do this." 

"No." Jack suddenly said firmly.

Sam and Gabriel both looked at Jack in surprise. For the first time Gabriel found himself receiving a look of honest respect from Jack. It was so different from what he was used to that he couldn't hide his shock. Jack's expression remained serious as he placed his hand on Gabriel's shoulder.

"Gabriel, we have a rule: we don't leave our people behind."

"I didn't realize I was one of 'your people'." Gabriel said with a shy smile.

"Anyone who would willingly give himself to Ba'al for Daniel is a friend of mine."

"Jac..."

"Besides, I was only 'mostly hiding'...my plan isn't as simply as it first appears." 


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-six

"Okay, we can do this two different ways." Jack announced. "There's the covert approach and the 'cause mass chaos' method."

"At Ba'al's age he must return to his Sarcophagus at night," Gabriel pointed out "there's a good chance he's 'sleeping'."

"Not to mention he's feeling particularly full of himself at the moment." Sam added. "And therefore not expecting an attack."

"Alright, covert for now...but I'll be damned if I'm leaving this ship without blowing something up."

"You can start with the door." Gabriel offered.

Jack nodded and riffled through the back pack he had brought along. Finding a silencer he handed it to Sam and she added it to the sidearm she now carried. It didn't take much of a charge to remove enough of the grated door to allow them to slip out. They stayed back a moment to see if anyone would come running. When no one challenged them they stepped out into the hall.

"Why didn't he post any guards?" Jack asked.

"Arrogance." Gabriel supplied. "In the Gou'ald world it is considered to be a great insult to be held captive without guard."

"Does that mean Daniel will be unguarded."

"Not likely, he's currently a special case. Ba'al would not take such a chance."

"Any thoughts on where he might be?"

"I...uh...if I know Ba'al," Gabriel swallowed hard "then I know exactly where Daniel is."

"And do you know Ba'al?" Jack asked unknowingly repeating Daniel's inquiry.

"All too well."

"Then show us the way."

Gabriel nodded and looked around to get his bearings straight. With confidence he turned right and began to lead them upwards through the ships levels. Several times they had to duck into storage rooms and such to avoid patrolling Jaffa. However all in all the journey was not as difficult as Jack had feared it would be.

"Where is everyone?" Jack asked quietly.

"Probably tearing the Alpha Site apart." Sam guessed.

"Yeah," Jack sighed "I am not looking forward to trying to explain that."

"Sssh." Gabriel admonished.

Gabriel lead them to an intersection and halted them with a hand signal. He cautiously peeked around the corner and then ducked back. He held up two fingers, Jack looked to Sam and she nodded. With the silenced sidearm in hand Sam glanced around the corner to see where the guards were standing.

Sam drew back, made a quick mental calculation and then stepped out into the hall with the weapon raised. The gun spat quietly twice and Sam nodded to let the others know it was clear. Jack quickly made his way to the dropped guards and grabbed one by the collar to drag him out of view. Gabriel touched the other and pulled his hand back in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked with her weapon ready again.

"This one's human."

"Human?" Jack repeated.

"He has no symbiot, he is not Jaffa." Gabriel explained.

"Isn't that a bit odd?"

"Extremely." Gabriel answered. "Something's not right."

"One problem at a time." Jack said firmly.

Gabriel nodded his agreement and pulled the human guard out of plain sight. He lead them through the hallway that the guards had been protecting. At the end was a single door. Gabriel just stared at the metal barrier for a moment.

"This is it." Gabriel announced as he went to open the door.

"How do we know Ba'al's not still in there with him?" Jack asked in a whisper.

"Because there's no sound."

Jack paled at Gabriel's response. He wished his heart wasn't pounding so hard against his ribs. He noticed that Gabriel seemed to be waiting for permission to open the door. Rather than response Jack reached out to the access panel and opened the door himself.

Although he had already prepared himself for what he would see it didn't help his reaction to it when faced with the reality. His heart that had been working so hard seemed to suddenly skip a few of its vigorous beats before stumbling back into rhythm.

The eerie light of the ring stained Daniel's skin a tranquil blue, giving him the look of being frozen in ice. With his head bowed in exhausted surrender his only motion was laboured rise and fall of his stomach as he attempted to keep breathing. Even from across the room Jack could hear the painful rasping of the effort.

"Daniel..."

Daniel made no reaction to their arrival and seem oblivious to it. Jack rushed up and instantly went for the buckles of the leather straps holding Daniel's wrists captive. When Gabriel grabbed his arm to stop him Jack glared at him murderously.

"You can't just let him down."

"Why not?" Jack demanded angrily.

"He needs the ring for a little longer." Gabriel explained. "Trust me on this."

Jack thought about it for a moment and then nodded.

"First you need to take the pins out of his knees."

"Pins?" Sam repeated in horror.

"Silver pieces used to keep him from being able to stand or kick."

"Why do I get the feeling you've seen this before?" Jack growled.

"I have, never to this extent. However the ring used in the turning of a Tok'ra."

"You lied to us." Jack hissed.

"I had to."

Jack took a breath to argue further when he noticed that Sam was making better use of her energy. Having found one of the 't' shaped spikes she yanked it out quickly. Jack looked up to see if Daniel had even noticed, he hadn't. Jack knelt down and pulled another restraint from the other knee.

Standing back up Jack gingerly placed his hand under Daniel's jaw and brought his head up. His sapphire eyes were open, but he was looking away. Jack moved into Daniel's line of sight and Daniel shifted his vision away once again, refusing to make eye contact. Allowing Daniel to put his head back down Jack turned his attention to Sam.

"He...he's probably in shock, Sir." Sam said quietly.

Gabriel walked carefully around the ring, afraid to get caught in its healing horizon. Jack didn't like the way the Gou'ald eyes suddenly brightened with tears. Gabriel reached out to touch Daniel's back, but froze before he did so.

"Gabriel?" Sam asked in concern.

"I will see him dead for this." Gabriel growled darkly.

With his blood running like ice in his veins Jack walked around the ring. He closed his eyes against the sight, but it was too late, the image was forever imprinted in his mind. Like the bony stubs of broken wings a pair of ornate dagger hilts protruded from Daniel's shoulder blades. Every breath he took lanced the buried silver through his lungs, only to have them heal again.

"Sir?"

"Stay there, Carter." Jack replied vacantly. "That's an order."

"Jack, you're going to have to pull them out. I can't risk touching him until the ring is off."

"Perhaps we should turn the ring off first and..."

"Let him drown in his own blood?"

"I...uh...I didn't think of it that way." Jack admitted. "I was hoping that if the ring was off he'd quickly pass out..."

"I know you don't want to hurt him, but the best thing is to just remove them."

Jack closed his eyes against the sting of tears and nodded. He opened his eyes with a deep breath and reached out to take one of the hilts. Once again Gabriel took his wrist to stop him. This time Jack just looked at him expectantly. Gabriel forced a sad smile.

"Sam?"

"Yes?" Sam answered anxiously.

"I need you to steady Daniel so that Jack can take both of the knives at once." Gabriel instructed. "Wrap one arm around his waist...the other I'm afraid you're going to have to put over his mouth to keep any noise to a minimum."

Sam nodded, realizing that this had to be done.

"Jack, those blades will be healed into the bone, so make sure you pull as hard as you can."

"Right."

Sam stepped up to Daniel and placed her arm around his waist as though they were going to dance. It wasn't until she reached up to put her hand on his mouth that she got a reaction from him. He calmly turned his face away from her to try and keep her from silencing him.

Not wanting to prolong the inevitable Sam simply forced him to face forward. She put her delicate hand over his mouth and held it there firmly. He still refused to look at her, however his expression slowly turning to one of confusion.

"I'm sorry, Daniel." Sam whispered.

"Ready?" Jack asked morosely.

"As we'll ever be."

In one swift motion Jack gripped both daggers and jerked them free. Sam had braced herself for a violent reaction, however, Daniel had remained calm and hadn't even whimpered. The only change was that she could now feel his hot breath brushing across the back of her hand as he was finally able to breath freely again. She took her hand away from his mouth and he slowly bowed his head once more.

Jack dropped the gory blades and looked to Gabriel. Gabriel walked around to the control panel on the ring and after waiting for another minute he shut it down. Sam released Daniel and Jack took her place in supporting him while she freed him from the leather restraints.

Jack helped Daniel to sit down on the cold stone floor, making sure he was steady before releasing him. Daniel seemed awake, but completely disinterested in his surroundings. Jack took off his lightweight jacket and draped it over Daniel's bare shoulders. Sam knelt down in front of him and gently ran her fingers through his hair trying to get his attention.

"Daniel? It's Sam..."

When she didn't get any response Sam put her hand on his shoulder. He pulled away just enough to let her know the contact was unwanted. She sighed and took her hand away. Strangely enough the sigh seemed to get a reaction out of him. For a brief moment he looked around nervously before zoning out again.

"It's alright, Daniel," Sam assured "we're going to get you home."

"He'll be okay," Gabriel said unconvincingly "he just needs some time."

"I think now would be a good time to switch to 'mass chaos'" Jack suggested. "I've got the important parts of this bird rigged to blow. And I've got a sizable charge ready on Anshar's ship as well, which by the way Ba'al's goons boarded just before I came over. We can blow that first to send everyone into a frenzy, get to the Alpha Site and then cripple this one."

"I disagree, I think it's more important that we..."

Gabriel and Jack started to argue about their next move however Sam had stopped listening when Daniel suddenly reached out and took her hand. She shifted her whole attention to him and he actually brought his eyes up to meet hers.

He knit his brow like he was trying to understand what was happening. Sam could see him losing his focus, slipping away once more into his own mind. He looked around vacantly as tears slipped down his cheeks. He brought his gaze back to Sam once more, shaking his head slowly.

Sam waited anxiously for him to say something. However, he didn't quite make it to the surface and went back to staring at the floor. Tears spilt from Sam's eyes as well as she watched him go back into his own world. It was worse than seeing him trapped in his memories, at least then he had been interacting with something. Jack and Gabriel's argument caught Sam's ear again when Jack said something odd.

"Gabriel, only a _shmuck_ gets out of the shower to pee."

"Wha...what does that even mean?"

"It means 'let's not do any more work than we have to'."

"I just think you're underestimating Ba'al and that if we don't see to his death personally he's going to escape and he won't rest until he has me, and the first thing he'll do is head towards Earth and destroy it in hopes of flushing me."

"I'm not starting a fight with Ba'al on his own ship with Daniel in this condition. We need to get him home and if Ba'al survives then we'll deal with him later."

"Then take Daniel back yourself and I'll deal with Ba'al."

"You can barely run ten feet before having a stroke." Jack countered. "You can't win against him. If we don't manage to destory this ship we will certainly at least cripple it. He'll be stuck here and we can come back later and clean up the mess."

"Ba'al will be long gone by the time you can even dial the Gate."

"I don't care." Jack finally admitted. "Daniel's more important, and a series of distracting explosions is the best way to get him out of here."

Gabriel sighed. He had seen Daniel's memories, and he knew what it was like to argue with Jack. However he was finding that experiencing it for himself was far more frustrating.

"This mission is officially a total scrub," Jack growled "let's get out of here."

Gabriel looked down and Sam and Daniel, and suddenly realized that Jack was right. He flashed Sam a sad smile and then nodded. Sam turned her attention back to Daniel and was suddenly struck with a thought.

"Gabriel, what about the research we came here to get?" Sam asked. "Did you ever find any of it?"

"Sort of, but it is protected by a series of passwords."

"But you know where it is in the system?"

"Yes."

"Carter, why does any of that matter now?" Jack asked irately.

"Sir, we can't let Daniel have gone through all of this for nothing. We need to at least try and get that data before leaving. We are never going to get a chance like this again."

"Sam, it would take even you hours, if not days to hack into Ba'al's database."

"Don't have to...got a better idea."

"Carter?"

"Sir, we don't have to copy the information onto a Crystal...because it's already on one."

"What?" Jack asked.

"Sam, I know what you're thinking, but there a thousands of Crystals involved in Ba'al's system. How will we know which ones to take and how to configure them later?"

"That's what I'm here for."

Gabriel stared at Sam for a moment and she met his challenge with a confident smile. Gabriel returned the smile and nodded his approval. It was a long shot, but it could work. They both turned to Jack and looked at him expectantly.

"Under one condition." Jack said firmly.

"You'll get to blow something up, Sir." Sam smiled. "In fact I suggest we destroy Anshar's ship now so you can use the distraction to get Daniel out of here and Gabriel and I can use it to get into his lab. Once that's done we can set off a crippling charge here for some more 'chaos' and join you."

"Be back at the Base by dinner?"

"Just maybe." Sam smiled.

"Finally, a plan that sounds sane." Jack beamed.

"It does?" Gabriel asked.

"Well...in comparison to what we've been doing."


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-seven

"You know...that just never gets old." Jack beamed.

Sam was forced to smile as she shook her head. The shock wave from the explosion that had ripped through Anshar's ship was powerful enough to reverberate through the halls of Ba'al's ship. As added distraction Jack had set off a few smaller charges that he'd left in some of the random vents. Just as predicted the ship's crew was now in a disorganized frenzy.

"By the time you get Daniel to the ring transporter most of the Jaffa down on the Alpha Site should have been recalled up here." Gabriel noted as he traced his hands along the wall.

"What are you looking for?" Jack asked.

"This." Gabriel replied as he pressed in part of the wall. A small drawer automatically slid out revealing a hand device. "We should go, this chaos isn't going to last long and once Ba'al gets thing under control he'll be coming here."

Jack knelt down in front of Daniel who was still just sitting on the floor. It pained Jack to see him staring sightlessly at the floor, but he could understand his friend's desire to just retreat from reality. It was a wound that could not be healed by the ring, only by time.

"Daniel, what are the chances of you peacefully following me out of here?" Jack asked softly. He waited a few moments and then sighed. "I didn't think so."

When Daniel didn't get to his feet voluntarily Jack stood up and forced him to stand. He didn't try to sit down again, he just stood like a well beaten slave waiting for orders. For Sam it was too heartbreaking to watch so she turned her attention seeing if there was anyone in the hall.

"The hallway is clear, Sir."

"The transporter rings are the opposite direction as the Lab, we could help yo..." Gabriel started to offer.

"Don't worry about us," Jack said firmly "just focus on getting those Crystals and getting out of here. Now go."

"Is that an order?" Gabriel asked.

"As a matter of fact it is."

Gabriel smiled. Although his mirth quickly faded as he turned to Daniel. He looked like he was going to say something, but apparently thought better of it. Instead Gabriel gently touched the back of his hand against Daniel's cheek. Daniel turned away to break the contact.

"Good luck." Gabriel sighed.

"You too."

Gabriel joined Sam at the door and looked around himself before leaving. Sam looked back at Jack and Daniel and forced a smile before following Gabriel. Jack looked around the room, noticing the large pitcher of water and a metal cup on the table. He briefly noted how out of place the mundane objects seemed. However with more pressing matters at hand he put it out of his mind. 

"Okay, Danny, let's get the hell out of here."

Jack took Daniel's wrist to lead him. Not happy about being restrained Daniel tried to free himself. However when Jack didn't release him he eventually gave in. Jack pulled Daniel along and they made their way towards the transporter rings. 

"You know all those time that I wished you wouldn't talk so much?" Jack asked rhetorically. "I take it all back."

At the sound of Jack's voice Daniel started to try and pull himself away again. The last few hundred feet to the transporter ring was like trying to drag a donkey in a direction it didn't want to go. By the time they got there both men were panting with the effort that it had taken. 

"Daniel, please, snap out of this." 

Jack waited a moment as if Daniel might actually heed his plea. However now that Jack had finally let go of his wrist he just stood with his eyes cast to the floor. Jack closed his eyes for a brief moment before walking behind Daniel and pushing into the circle on the floor that denoted the transporter rings.

Taking out a second sidearm that he'd brought along Jack checked the cartridge and unlatched the safety. There was a good chance that at least a few Jaffa would have been left behind to keep watch of the Alpha Site. 

Jack raised the weapon just before the rings activated so that he'd be ready when they hit the ground. It was a precaution that was well worth the effort. There were three guards still left on the planet. 

The guards were slow to react, as though restrained by the heavy armour they wore. Jack on the other hand had his adrenaline up and killed all three before any of them managed a shot. For some reason the gunfire had not phased Daniel, and once again Jack had to push him to get him to move.

Just out of curiosity Jack walked over to one of Ba'al's fallen servants. It took a moment to work his stomach armour off, but it revealed why the man had been so slow to react. He was not Jaffa, as before this one was a human slave. It took a Jaffa's strength to truly be able to wear the heavy armour.

"Is Ba'al having a hard time finding good help, or what?" Jack muttered to himself.

Having wasted enough time Jack snatched Daniel's wrist once more and dragged him over to the computer that controlled the Alpha Site's Stargate. With practiced ease he initiated the program that would dial the Gate back home. Once the wormhole was established Jack picked up the radio.

"This is General O'Neill, you get that iris fixed yet?" 

"Yes, Sir."

"Well open it." Jack ordered as he tapped is code into the computer. "And I need a medical team ready, I've got Dr Jacks..."

Jack stopped. He looked around and suddenly noticed that Daniel was missing.

"Well, I had him." Jack sighed to himself, and then spoke once more into the radio. "Keep that iris open, we'll be through in a few minutes."

"Medical is on their way, Sir."

Jack turned around and found that Daniel had backed into the far corner. As Jack approached Daniel slid down the wall to sit on the floor. Kneeling down in front of him Jack could see that Daniel was shaking.

"Daniel? What's wrong?" Jack thought about what he had just said. "Besides the obvious."

Daniel's eyes shifted to the open wormhole. He turned away and weld his eyes shut. Jack looked to the wavering blue event horizon and smiled sadly. Standing up he helped Daniel get back to his feet. Trembling harder every second Daniel kept his eyes shut.

"It's alright, home is just on the other side." Jack assured. "You've done this a thousand times."

The Alpha Site's Gate wasn't up on a ramp the way it was back at the SGC, it was simply set into a stone dais. Taking a hold of both of Daniel's wrists Jack started to back up to lead him towards the Gate. Daniel followed him about half the way before he opened his eyes.

Seeing the Gate Daniel stopped. He widen his stance and fought violently to free himself. Knowing Daniel wasn't in his right mind Jack just pulled harder, feeling that the best thing he could do was to get him home. He managed to move his unwilling team mate a few feet closer to the horizon. 

Jack jolted in surprise as the previously silent Daniel suddenly screamed in abject terror. He paused only long enough to draw another breath and then cried out at the top of his lungs again. Jack didn't have the heart to continue to force him towards the Gate and let him go. 

Once released Daniel simply collapsed to the floor. He drew his knees to his chest and wept like a lost child. Jack knelt down and tried to draw Daniel into a comforting embrace. Daniel cried out in fear again and pushed Jack away. He scrambled back into the corner, burring his face in his hands so that he would have to look at the Gate.

"What did Ba'al do to you?" Jack asked mournfully.

Confused by Daniel's sudden phobia of the Gate Jack turned and look at the shimmering translucent blue wormhole. Jack's chest constricted painfully as he suddenly understood what was wrong. The glass on Ba'al table had seemed out of place, but it hadn't seemed sinister, until now.

"You think it's water, you're affraid you're going to drown...again."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-eight

"You're simply amazing."

"Gabriel, save the admiration for after we get out of here in one piece." Sam sighed, trying not to smile. 

"Live or die, I stand by what I said." Gabriel replied honestly.

Sam just shook her head and went back to rearranging the Crystals below the console in Ba'al's lab. Making it to the lab had not been difficult. On several occasions while hiding and waiting for the guards to pass by Gabriel had closed his eyes and concentrated.

"More humans..." He had muttered. "I don't understand."

"Ba'al has lost a lot of his Jaffa to the Revolution." 

"But why isn't he replacing them? He has the power to change these humans to Jaffa."

"That's right, Hathor turned General O'Neill once."

"There must be a reason." Gabriel insisted.

"Let's worry about it later."

Gabriel had nodded and lead her to the Lab, where she now worked on what would hopefully be the last Crystal combination. Sam slipped the Crystal in her hand into its new slot. All of the Crystals under the console flashed, went dark and then started a sequence.

"Got it!" Sam exclaimed in triumph. "Or at least part of it."

"I hope the next part doesn't take as long, Ba'al will have noticed that Daniel's missing by now."

"I need you to access as far as you can into Ba'al's files, to the point where you became stuck."

Gabriel nodded and started typing at the complicated interface. As he combed back through the files Sam watched the sequence carefully. When Gabriel announced that he was at an impasse Sam reached out and pulled out seven currently dark Crystals. She gently packed them in the back pack that Jack had given her and stood up.

"Okay, let's go."

"That's it?" Gabriel asked surprised. "That was...easy."

"It's only easy if you know what you're doing." Sam smiled.

"Do I detect a hint of actual 'pride' in your voice?" Gabriel chuckled.

"Maybe." Sam shrugged.

"How _did_ you do it?"

"Ask me again when we're back at the Base."

Sam noticed with concern that Gabriel's frame had tensed at her last words. She knit her brow in sudden suspicion. Gabriel forced a smile, but it didn't help hide his true intentions.

"Gabriel...you can't go after Ba'al." Sam said sternly.

"I have to."

"Revenge won't help Daniel now."

"It's only partially about revenge." Gabriel sighed.

"What are you talking about?"

"Sam, if word spreads that I've made it out of the Ancient Lab...it will unite every Goa'uld in this Galaxy. They will drop everything and band together to find me."

"Why do they want you so badly?"

"I ingrained it into them a long time ago that if I die they will all loose their genetic memory. The Goa'uld want to make sure that I'm safe...forever."

"Stasis."

"Sam...I can't go back." Gabriel's eyes brightened with tears. "I can't be trapped in my own thoughts again...if I had known what it was going to be like I would have just let myself die with Gabriel."

Sam had never seen such a serious expression on Gabriel's face. It had never occurred to her that he'd been aware of being in stasis, she had always assumed that it was like being asleep. However the fear in his eyes told her it what a true prison it had been. 

"Gabriel, this is suicide."

"I'd rather face whatever death holds for me than be placed back into timeless darkness of stasis."

"You aren't strong enough to take on Ba'al, and he won't kill you, he's smarter than that. Please just come back with me. Ba'al is going to have more than enough to deal with once we cripple this ship. We'll have time to think of something before he comes for you."

"He won't be coming for me. He thinks I'm in Daniel..."

"That's perfect!" Sam suddenly exclaimed.

"What?"

"Gabriel, we have a surgery for removing Goa'uld..."

"Yes, I know." Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Jack threatened me with it on several occasions."

"Sorry about that, but if I know Ba'al he will contact us to try and barging before he joins up with the other Goa'uld and attacks. When he does...we'll just tell him we've done the sugery and you're dead. It will be very plausable, and remember the word that you're free would be coming from Ba'al's mouth anyway and I don't know anyone who trusts anything he says."

Sam watched Gabriel think about her plan. It was clear that he wanted to find a way to argue. However, eventually he conceded to it with a reluctant nod. 

"Okay, we'll do it your way," Gabriel sighed "...under one condition."

"And that would be?"

"I'll need a kiss for luck."

"Forget it."

Gabriel chuckled and followed Sam as she made her way to the lab door. Before stepping out she reached into her pocket and pulled out the C4 trigger. Jack had planted two more smaller charges and then there was the main one near the hyperdrive. She triggered the last two smaller exsplosions. There was distant rumble that signified a continuation of the chaos.

Stepping out into the hall Gabriel took Sam's hand to lead her towards the nearest transporter rings. It had taken less than half an hour to get the Crystals and the mostly human crew seemed to be in complete disarray. So when they turned a corner and found themselves face to face with one of them no one seemed to know what to do. 

When the guard finally decided to raise his staff weapon Gabriel raised up his hand device. The stone in his hand burned a deep red and the guard collapsed to the floor instantly. Blood trickled from the man's nose. Gabriel stared at him in disbelief.

"That...that wasn't what I was trying to do." Gabriel stuttered.

"It's okay," Sam said gently "let's just keep moving."

They arrived at the ring transporter room without further interruption. Before stepping into the ring Sam checked the cartridge of her sidearm. Deciding that a full clip was the way to go she riffled through the pack until she found one. Clicking it into place she flung the back pack over her shoulder and flicked off the gun's safety.

"Ready to go?" Sam asked.

Gabriel nodded and Sam turned away to step into the ring. Once in the ring she raised her gun just as Jack had in preparation for hostiles that may have been sent down to the Alpha Site once Ba'al noticed Daniel missing. She noticed at the last minute that Gabriel hadn't joined her.

"Gabri..."

Sam was cut off as the rings leapt up from the floor and bathed her in their white light. Gabriel wasted no time in disabling the transport mechanism to keep Sam from just returning. He dragged his hands through his long midnight and moonbeam hair.

"I'm sorry Sam. I made a promise to Daniel to see Ba'al dead...and I keep my promises."


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-nine

Jack led Daniel away from the infirmary and into one of the observable VIP rooms. He didn't want to lock him up in medical containment, fearing that it might upset Daniel further. In the end he'd had to call medical through to the Alpha Site to sedate Daniel to bring him home. 

Dr. Brightman had used the sedation to perform a host of test before allowing him to wake. Jack had hoped that once Daniel got a look around the SGC that he'd come back to his senses. However, the only improvement was that he didn't struggle when led somewhere. Jack pushed Daniel towards the bed and forced him to sit down.

"I know it's not exactly home, but it's better than being on Ba'al's ship." Jack forced a smile. "Once Carter and Gabriel get back we'll take you for a tour of your house. Until then is there a particular book you'd like me to get you to read? Or a chess board? Anything you want, just name it."

Jack sighed heavily as Daniel stared right through him. He waved his hand in front of Daniel's face, but instantly regretted doing so. Daniel cringed away from him like a beaten dog. He didn't relax until Jack conceded to take a step back. 

Daniel's eyes darted around the room before settling on concentrating on the floor. Jack briefly considered slapping him up side the head, but resisted the urge. There was a gentle knock at the door and Dr. Brightman stepped in with her clip board of test results.

"So...is it stress?" Jack asked as lightheartedly as he could.

"Sir, I'm afraid that Dr. Jackson's condition is more serious than Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome."

"Yeah, well the 'trauma' leading to it was more serious than usual."

"I know." Dr. Brightman sighed. "Which makes prognosis difficult at best. Even a diagnosis isn't easy at this point."

"Doc, you know that I have no idea what you're talking about right?" Jack grumbled in frustration. "English, please."

"Alright, for all intensive purposes Dr. Jackson is in a kind of coma called MCS for minimally conscious state, and I don't know if he'll ever recover."

"A coma?" Jack repeated.

"Actually since his eyes are open it is technically called a 'vegetative state'."

Looking skeptical Jack reached out to touch Daniel's shoulder. In response Daniel pulled his shoulder away to avoid being touched. When Jack made contact anyway Daniel calmly got off the bed and went to go sit down in the far corner of the room.

"Fairly mobile for a vegetable." Jack noted.

"Two things. First, coma patients will often move, walk, talk, and those in MCS will often show deliberate behaviour without awareness."

"The other thing?"

"I had said 'for all intensive purposes'. There is nothing like this in medical science today. There are no books that tell me how to help a torture victim that has had to experience their own death multiple times, and I have no idea what affects this 'ring' had on the situation."

"You're right, I'm sorry." Jack sighed. 

"It's alright, this is frustrating for us both. The real problem is that everyone else in history with MCS has suffered from a brain injury."

"But he has no physical damage?"

"None. So there's no physical reason for him to be like this."

"He doesn't need a physical reason...he has plenty of others." Jack grumbled. "Is there anything we can do to help him?"

"Unfortunately, no." Dr. Brightman sighed. "However there is hope that Dr. Jackson will fix this on his own. He has been in a state very similar to this once before and managed to recover."

"I must have been out sick that day, I don't recall it."

"When he was invaded by the crew of the Stromos."

"Oh, right."

"His underlying EEG looked just like it does now."

"You think he's retreated into his mind."

"I do." Dr. Brightman nodded. "His reactions to stimulus, such as moving away from being touched, are merely instinct."

"Like Anshar." Jack muttered.

"What?"

"A body without a thinking mind, driven purely by instinct. Only it was Anshar's instinct to be violent whereas it is Daniel's instinct to simply protect himself." Jack explained. 

"Exsactly."

With a heavy heart Jack turned to look at Daniel. Sitting in the corner he had pulled his knees up to his chest and had his arms wrapped around them. He would look around every once in a while without really seeming to see anything.

"What...what are the chances that 'Daniel' isn't even in there anymore?" Jack asked hesitantly.

"What do you mean?"

"Daniel's had quite a bit of experience with leaving his physical body. I mean he spent a whole year as energy or something. Clearly he hasn't Ascended, but do you think he somehow managed to separate whatever it is that makes him 'Daniel' from his body to escape what was happening?"

"I can't say...the soul is not science."

Jack sighed heavily and looked back down at Daniel as he stared at the floor. It certainly didn't look like his friend was in there. Tears suddenly slipped down Daniel's face, but at the same time a faint smile touched his lips. Jack was just about to go over and try talking to him again when the Base alarms went off for an unscheduled off world activation. 

"This had better be good news."


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

Not about to waste time Gabriel rushed back to the guard that he had accidentally killed. He searched the fallen guard until he found the ornate knife he carried. 

Pulling his long hair back into a ponytail he used the sharp blade to hack it off. The original owner of his body had taken a great deal of pride in his hair and Gabriel had kept it long out of respect. However, he couldn't afford it getting in the way right now.

Gabriel's messily cut hair fell in uneven sections just above his ears. He kept the knife, tucking it behind his back in the band of his pants. In further preparation he took out one of the prefilled syringes that he carried and jabbed its sharp tip into a vein. After pulling his hands through his newly shortened hair Gabriel looked around briefly.

It would seem that Ba'al's crew was busy with containing the damage from the explosions. Just to make sure things stayed that way Gabriel brought out the last C4 trigger that he had stolen from Sam. She always became flustered when he drew close, making her an easy pick pocket target.

The larger explosion rumbled through the ship with a sound like a giant lion with indigestion. Jack had been unable to reach the Crystals of the hyperdrive so there was no chain reaction to destroy the entire ship. However the damage was extensive enough to ensure that the ship would be unable to travel in hyperspace.

Gabriel wanted to go after Ba'al right away, but there was one thing he knew he had to do first. He made his way swiftly back to the room where they had found Daniel. The ring was dangerous and he wanted to make sure it was destroyed in case he ended up losing his fight against Ba'al.

Stepping into the room Gabriel found two things that he was not expecting. The first was the fact that his work had been done for him. The ring lay in pieces on the floor, having been meticulously taken apart. The other out of place item was Ba'al himself. He was standing before a console in the wall, probably trying to assert the damage. With his back turned and his attention elsewhere he had not noticed the intruder.

Taking a deep breath Gabriel roared in animalistic fury in a voice no mere human could imitate, not even with Naquadah in their blood. It was a powerful high pitched almost mechanical sound that the very first Goa'uld males used when they wished to challenge one another, back when they were still just river creatures living peacefully on their forest world.

It was not a cry that modern Goa'uld used. Shocked by the sound Ba'al turned around slowly. His expression of surprise quickly turned to one of disgust. He walked closer fearlessly with his head held high. He came to stand about five feet from Gabriel and looked him up and down, clearly unimpressed by what he saw.

"So, Gabriel leaves behind his **dog** to challenge me?" Ba'al snarled. 

"I am no dog, I am Gabriel."

"Jackson hosts Gabriel."

"He hosts no one."

"Lets say I believe you." Ba'al mocked coolly. "Does this mean you've come to surrender?"

"Not exactly." Gabriel replied icily. "I've come to teach you compassion."

"Compassion?" Ba'al replied as though the word left a bitter taste.

"Or kill you trying."

Ba'al laughed and carelessly raised his hand device. Gabriel didn't even have to raise his in return to deflect the pulse sent his way. Ba'al raised one eye brow as though mildly impressed. He poured more of his energy into the stone causing it to glow a bright yellow.

Quickly raising his hand Gabriel's hand device shone a blinding white, protecting him once again from Ba'al's attack. While he still had his strength there was little Ba'al could do with the hand device that Gabriel couldn't counter. However a fine bead of sweat was already beginning to collect at his temple. 

"Do you believe me to be Gabriel now?"

"You will not kill me," Ba'al said confidenly "I am your son." 

"Which is the only reason I am giving you this one last chance."

"You wish me to repent?" Ba'al sneered. "To fall upon my knees before you and beg for forgiveness?"

"No." Gabriel whispered sadly. "I wish you to beg yourself for forgiveness."

"For what?"

"I will show you."

Gabriel reached out as though he was going to caress Ba'al's cheek. For the first time fear flashed across Ba'al features. He went to take a step away, but found himself suddenly hypnotized by Gabriel's emerald gaze, paralyzed like a bird caught in a serpent's stare. With a gentle touch Gabriel placed the stone of his hand device against Ba'al temple.

Ba'al knit his brow in confusion and then gasped sharply as the stone in Gabriel's control turned a piercing blue. Locking eyes with Ba'al Gabriel concentrated on all of the pain and loss that both the original Gabriel and Daniel had ever experienced. 

He pressed into Ba'al's mind the painful memory of every Niacine that had died in Gabriel's arms during the thousands of years worth of war. Gabriel opened his heart to the moment when it had been discovered that not only had Leena had been taken, but that an entire planet had died along side his wife. All because they were trying to kill him.

Tears slipped down Ba'al's and Gabriel's cheeks as they both experienced the hopeless madness that the human Gabriel had fallen victim to, caused by the seemingly endless slaughter. His whole existence had been dedicated to freedom and peace, but his only rewards had been sorrow and war.

Gabriel started to struggle for breath as he began to retell the story of how close he had come to peace and how his capture by his own Unas dwelling children had ruined everything. Ba'al cried out in agony at the memories of Gabriel's centuries of captivity and torture. Suddenly Ba'al found his mind reeling with the vast darkness and isolation of millenniums spent in stasis. 

"Stop!" Ba'al cried. "I had nothing to do with any of this!"

"Then let's move on to someone who's life you have affected."

Closing his eyes Gabriel first filled Ba'al's heart with an almost overwhelming amount of passion and love. Ba'al's eyes started to roll back as his breathing began to slow. Before he could pass out completely Gabriel tore the sensation away from him as though ripping out his physical heart. 

"Sha're!" 

Ba'al voice cracked with uninvited emotion. He fought bitterly to free himself from Gabriel's spell, whimpering against his tears. Gabriel was beginning to tremble as the effort and shared emotion ate away at his undead flesh. Fearing he didn't have much longer Gabriel brought Ba'al to one of Daniel's memories that directly involved him.

It hurt Gabriel's already labouring heart to hear Jack's desperate plea for help, for escape, even if that meant death. Although a look of murderous hate still twisted Ba'al's features tears streamed down his face from the heart wrenching feeling of helplessness caused by watching someone he cared for suffer.

Bellowing in rage Ba'al broke free as Gabriel finally weakened. He back handed Gabriel hard enough to drop him to his knees. Doubling over Ba'al wrapped his arm over his stomach and dry heaved violently. Gabriel stayed on his knees panting for breath. Using all his will Ba'al tried to bring himself under control.

"What do you think you have proven?!" Ba'al spat angrily. 

"I have shown you just one of the wonderful creatures you've devoted your life to destroying."

"All you have shown me is something I have known for thousands of years!" Ba'al roared. "That humans are frail, emotional creatures that need Gods to believe in!" 

"Without your human half, you are nothing."

"I have no human half." Ba'al hissed defiantly. "It would make me weak, like a filthy Tok'ra. I simply wear this skin the way a hunter wears the pelt of a deer."

"You believe your human heart makes you weak?" Gabriel growled darkly. "Try living without it!"

With strength that he had been hiding Gabriel leapt to his feet. Retrieving the hidden knife that he had taken from the Jaffa he used his momentum to drive the blade into Ba'al's stomach just below the ribs. 

Ba'al gasped violently in a combination of shock and pain. Gabriel took a hold of his shoulder and forced the knife up through his ribs until it was buried deep into Ba'al's heart. Gabriel released his hold and took an awkward step back as his own heart began to fail him.

Dropping to his knees Ba'al weakly tried to pull the dagger out of his chest. However the approach of death and the slippery blood made it impossible. He looked up at Gabriel and snarled defiantly at him, displaying bloodstained teeth. Ba'al pitched forward, placing one hand on the floor to support himself. He retched hot blood onto the cold stone floor. 

Gabriel didn't have time to watch the rest of Ba'al's throws. He was struggling against the icy grip of death himself. As his blood thickened his heart laboured agonizingly hard against it. He only had one of the serum pens left and he put it to use now.

Sitting down on the floor Gabriel closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. With most of his attention turned inward Gabriel concentrated on healing the damage is over exertion had caused. He noticed that the serum was less effective each time he used it and that eventually it would be useless. 

The pain had just begun to ebb when Gabriel was torn from his meditation by a blood curdling scream. Snapping his eyes open he was shocked to find Ba'al back on his feet. With another roar he succeeded in ripping the dagger from his chest.

Gabriel scrambled backward as Ba'al took a menacing step towards him. Gabriel knew what it took to kill a Goa'uld and had struck accordingly. It didn't make any sense that Ba'al could rise again without aid. 

Ba'al's lips parted in a grotesque smile. He reached up and opened the collar of his shirt. Beneath he wore a thick metal collar-like necklace that shone with the same tribal blue lights as the healing ring. For the briefest moment Gabriel was impressed by Ba'al's undeniably brilliant technological skills. It had never occured to him that Ba'al would use what he had taught him about the ring to make one small enough to wear.

"I was going to make a deal with you, let your live your life outside of stasis if you agreed to wear it, and to stay under my care."

"Never." Gabriel hissed.

"Oh, that offer is no longer available." Ba'al chuckled. "You will return to stasis...even if I have to lock your host in it as well."


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-one

"Sir, it's Colonel Carter."

"Open the iris, get medical down there."

Jack rushed down the stairs and into the Gateroom. Just as he arrived Sam stepped through the open wormhole. When the event horizon snapped shut without Gabriel behind her Jack heaved a heavy mental sigh. Sam spotted Jack and trotted down the ramp.

"How's Daniel?" Sam asked instantly.

"Completely out of his mind." Jack answered. "How's Gabriel?"

"The same."

"I take it he went after Ba'al."

"He trapped me down at the Alpha Site." Sam admitted. "I've got the Crystals, but we can't leave Gabriel with Ba'al. We have to help him."

"Alright, let's go."

Sam couldn't hide her surprise. 

"Something wrong, Carter?"

"I guess I just expected more of a fight from you."

"Well, I was just starting to like that crazy snake." Jack smiled. "Although I'd be lying if I said this was just about rescuing him."

Sam nodded knowingly. She handed the backpack to one of the Airmen with instructions to have it locked in the vault. Jack had yet to change out of his field gear and simply restocked his pockets with as many clips as they would carry. After a few other preparations they found themselves back at the Alpha Site.

"I take it the rings don't work?" Jack asked.

"Gabriel disabled them."

"Okay, we'll have to take the scenic route."

The pair quickly made their way to the hanger which held several of the F-302 fighter planes. Sam smiled at the loving way Jack touched the hybrid jet before opening the cockpit. If anyone had been born to fly, it was him. 

"So, what are the chances of us being able to just land this bird in the bay?" Jack asked.

"Fairly high. Gabriel stole the trigger for the last C4 charge and I assume he's used it."

"Let's hope so."

Jack offered Sam his hand to help her up into the cockpit. After a brief check of the craft's systems they rolled out of the hanger and practically leapt into the air. Once out of the atmosphere the monstrous Goa'uld ship was easy to spot. 

"Not much damage on the outside." Sam noted.

"Hopefully all hell has broken loose on the inside. In fact I hope there's enough of Ba'al left for me to have a piece."

"I'll split it with you."

"Deal."

Jack grinned and smoothly banked the F-302 towards the bay of the mothership. There was no one there to challenge them. The internal damage to the ship had been extensive and everyone was still occupied with putting out the fires. Once out of their own craft Jack and Sam looked around.

"Where do you think he'll be?" Jack asked.

"I guess the best place to start would be where we found Daniel."

"If Ba'al uses that ring on Gabriel is there a chance that he's going to be like Anshar?"

"That is defiantly a risk."

Jack nodded and gave Sam a stern look that told her in no uncertain terms that she was to shoot Gabriel if she had to. With sidearms drawn they started to make their way through the maze of the ship. Jack had never even noticed how familiar he had become with Goa'uld ships, but he discovered now that he knew the way. 

Half way to their destination the pair froze at the sound of Ba'al gratingly irritating laughter. With a quick hand signal Jack ordered Sam to stay back while he scouted it out. Coming to an intersection Jack carefully peeked around the corner in the direction of the noise.

Ba'al was forcibly marching Gabriel down the hallway. Ba'al had striped him of his shirt and used the strong silk to tie his hands behind his back. Blood flowed freely from his temple and even from a distance he could see him labouring hard for breath. Jack found his temper flaring at the smug expression slung across Ba'al's features. 

Before being spotted Jack ducked back to rejoin Sam. He instructed her wordlessly to step into a near doorway. The room beyond was darkened, allowing them a view of the hall while affording a small amount of cover. Sam looked at Jack expectantly.

"He doesn't seem to be a mindless zombie." Jack answered her unspoken question. "Although Ba'al did cut his hair."

Sam gave Jack a confused look to which he just shrugged. They both turned their attention to the hall as the sounds of footsteps drew closer. Ba'al was chattering something in the original Goa'uld that neither of them could understand. 

"I don't understand your stolen language." Gabriel snarled.

"Just as well," Ba'al chuckled "I was speaking of your fate. It is not pleasant."

"Neither is your breath."

"Someone has been spending too much time with O'Neill." 

"He's a better man than you could ever be."

"I am not a man, I am a God."

Although Jack couldn't see, he could imagine the way Gabriel's eyes must have just rolled. From the sounds of their voices he could tell that they were going to pass by them. Jack signaled to Sam to wait until they passed by and that he would take the first shot. 

When Gabriel walked past the darkened doorway he suddenly furrowed his brow and looked inside. Catching sight of Sam his eyes filled with fear. He quickly looked away and shook his head very slightly in an attempt to ward them away. Ba'al took the opportunity to shove Gabriel roughly forward.

Losing his balance Gabriel fell to one knee with a growl of pain and frustration. Out of sheer spite Ba'al put his foot between Gabriel's shoulder blades and forced him all the way to the floor. Once down Ba'al kicked him hard in the ribs. Gabriel cried out sharply as one of the bones cracked.

Jack used the sudden distraction to step from his hiding place. Without hesitation he emptied a full clip into Ba'al's exposed back. Ba'al roared like an bear caught in a steel trap before falling to the floor. Sam rushed to Gabriel's side and tried to help him sit up.

"Run!" Gabriel cried breathlessly. 

"Gabriel, it's okay, Ba'al is dead." Sam assured as she pulled out a knife to cut him free.

"No..." Gabriel panted "no...he's not...Sam run!"

"I'm fairly sure he's dead." Jack commented as he kicked Ba'al over onto his back. "See, no wor..."

Jack was cut off as Ba'al suddenly reached up and latched on to his pant leg. Arching his back Ba'al screamed sickeningly. Jack slammed a new clip into his sidearm and fired several more rounds into Ba'al's chest. Ba'al released his hold, but he was still breathing. Sam managed to cut Gabriel free. Jack reached down and hauled him to his feet. 

Ba'al was quicker to recover this time and cried out again, this time in rage more than pain. Everyone stepped back as Ba'al forced himself to his feet. Jack and Sam both raised their weapons at him and fired. However Ba'al had come to his senses enough to activate his shield and the bullets bounced off the energy field. 

"Why can't anything stay dead anymore?!" Jack demanded angrily.

"Just run!" Gabriel urged. "We can't fight him right now!"

When Jack saw Ba'al tearing into his own flesh to dig a bullet out of his chest he decided that Gabriel was probably right. Ba'al dropped the spent round and laughed before going after another one. Jack, Sam and Gabriel took off running. They had barely made it a hundred feet before Gabriel's body betrayed him. With a breathless cry he clutched his chest and crashed to the floor. 

After lifting him back to his feet Jack slipped under Gabriel's arm and helped him along. Sam ran ahead of them so that she could set a claymore up as a trap. Ba'al had to active his shield so hopefully they could catch him off guard. Jack and Gabriel caught up and the three of them kept going until they were about twenty feet from the claymore before stopping and turning around.

Ba'al came around the corner, walking casually. He caught sight of them and exposed his teeth in a wide grin. He stopped before reaching the effective range of claymore and chuckled once more, enjoying the game of cat and mouse.

"O'Neill," Ba'al bellowed "return Gabriel to me and I will spare your life, and that of Samantha. It might even put me in a good enough mood to leave your Tau'ri world alone for a few more hundred years."

"If you want him, you're going to have to come and get him." Jack spat.

"Very well."

Sam watched Ba'al's every motion and waited until he was aligned with the claymore before setting it off. The heat of the explosion washed over them and the force of it slammed Ba'al against the wall. For a moment everything was still. 

Jack stared in disbelief as Ba'al mangled and charred body began to breath with life once more. He winced at the horrible scream that suddenly sliced through the air as Ba'al was forced back into consciousness by the ring he wore. Even as the burnt flesh dripped from his frame it was being replaced.

"Gabriel, what the hell is going on?" Jack demanded. "Why won't he go down?"

"He's wearing a healing device around his neck."

"Well then we should try and get it off."

"I tried, it's locked." Gabriel lamented. "You'll have to take his head off to get it."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Sir..."

"I know, I know." Jack sighed. "No time. Come on, Kids, let's get the hell out of here."

Ba'al was still trying to get to his feet however even the power of the ring was going to take some time to bring him back to health. The team took advantage of the head start and rushed as quickly as they could to the nearest transporter ring room. By the time they reached their destination Gabriel was fighting to stand even with Jack's help. 

"Carter, get the transporter rings working." Jack ordered even though she was already working on it.

"I...I just put a code on it." Gabriel said weakly.

"What's the co..."

Jack was cut off as the rings suddenly leapt to life and bathed them white light. Once down at the Alpha Site he gave Sam a 'how-the-hell-did-you-do-that' look. Sam just smiled in return. Gabriel also seemed amused by her ability to guess the code, however his mirth did not last long. He grit his teeth against the spreading agony of his thickening blood.

"Gabriel?" Sam asked anxiously.

Gabriel couldn't answer. His breathing was growing progressively shallower.

"I'll dial the Gate." Jack announced.

Jack laid Gabriel down on the floor gently. Sam knelt down next to him and took his hand, unable to do much else to help him. Gabriel looked up at her gratefully and squeezed her hand reassuringly. Sam watched in horror as his lips began to take on a blue cast as his blood slowed.

"Gabriel, just because this body is failing you doesn't mean you have to die with it." Sam said softly. "I will host you..."

Gabriel forced a brave smile, but shook his head sadly.

"Do you even have the strength to leave?"

Gabriel shook his head slightly as his eyes began to lose focus. 

"Sir!"

Jack turned and saw that Gabriel was drawing dangerously close to death. The sequence had just completed and he slammed his code into the computer to get the iris open. He gathered Gabriel up in his arms and ran through the Gate with Sam following close behind.

Medical was already in the Gateroom on the other side. Jack placed him on the gurney they had brought and stepped back. A nurse placed an oxygen mask over his face while Dr. Brightman quickly examined him. Gabriel gasped for breath sporadically, his whole parlour turning a disturbing blue.

"75cc of Warfarin!" Dr. Brightman cried. 

"Warfarin?" Sam asked in alarm. "Isn't that rat poison?"

"It's also a powerful anticoagulant." Dr. Brightman turned to another nurse. "Go get at least fifteen pints of O negative ready."

"Doc...what are you doing?" Jack asked.

"I'm going to replace his blood." She replied as she pushed the Warfarin into Gabriel's system. "Get him to the infirmary now, start a bleed, hopefully we can flush his system."

Jack watched them taking Gabriel away with his heart pounding painfully. He suddenly realized how frightened he was that Gabriel might not survive. He was still trying to reconcile this change in his own opinion when he felt Sam come up to stand at his side. 

"Carter?" Jack asked vacantly.

"Yes, Sir?"

"What was the code that he had placed on the transporter rings?"

"'Daniel'."


	32. Chapter 32

WARNING: very slight shipping ahead.

Chapter Thirty-two

Jack made his way through the Base to Teal'c's quarters. Although still unable to walk more than a few feet they had allowed him to move back into his room. The deep staff burn had eaten into both skin and flesh and it would most likely be a month or more before he was fully healed. 

Reaching the door Jack knocked lightly. He was surprised when a female voice told him he could enter. Stepping into the room he found that a young nurse was replacing the bloodstained bandages with fresh ones. Sitting on the edge of the bed Teal'c endured the medical attention without complaint although Jack could see him trembling slightly. The nurse finished quickly and left the room.

"Hey, T." Jack greeted. "How are you feeling?"

"I will live." Teal'c replied without the usual sarcasm that came along with that statement.

"That's good to hear."

"How is Daniel Jackson?"

"He's...uh...unchanged."

"Gabriel should not have been trusted." 

"This wasn't Gabriel's fault. We all knew the mission was dangerous, and it was Daniel's decision. And in all fairness Gabriel did everything he could."

"A Goa'uld is never to be trusted." Teal'c said stubbornly.

"You know, T, I'm finding the irony of this situation a little hard to swallow." Jack sighed. "I recall a time when I had to give this same defensive speech to people about you."

"Jaffa are different."

"So is Gabriel. He can be trusted."

"I remember you telling me General Denahe could be trusted as well."

"Teal'c please, just give Gabriel a chance."

Teal'c's only response was a stony silence.

"At least promise me you won't try to kill him."

"I will defend myself and others if necessary." Teal'c grumbled.

"Fine, but make sure it is extremely necessary."

Teal'c thought about this before giving Jack a shallow bow.

"Thank you." Jack smiled. "Get some rest big guy. I expect to see you up and about in a few more weeks."

Teal'c's face settled into a sullen expression. It was a bit unnerving to see the Jaffa so pensive, but Jack could understand. It was not easy for him to accept his new slower rate of healing. Also as far as he was concerned they had just brought a Fox into the Hen house. 

Jack left the room and started to make his way towards the infirmary. Halfway there he ran into Sam. She had changed into her Base uniform, but it didn't look like she'd taken anything other than a short break since returning. 

"Carter, have you gotten any sleep?"

"No." Sam admitted. 

"Have you been messing around with those Crystals?"

"Actually I haven't had a chance. Between Teal'c, Daniel, and Gabriel I've been too busy."

"We must be on rotating schedules. I was just about to check in on Gabriel myself, if you'd like to join me."

"I'm going to say hello to Teal'c first, I'll meet you in the infirmary."

"Okay, if you find Teal'c in a bad mood...that's entirely my fault."

Sam smiled and nodded. Jack watched her leave until she was out of sight and then continued to make his way to the infirmary. It was early evening and the members of the SGC with families and lives were starting to go home, leaving only the night shift.

The nurse in the infirmary made herself busy with some paperwork in the office when Jack stepped in. Gabriel had not woken after the transfusion, however his skin colour was back to normal and he seemed to be breathing easily. 

On an impulse Jack reached out and touched the back of his hand against Gabriel's cheek. It was something he'd done to Daniel countless times while he lay near death for whatever reason. Half the time he actually got a response, and this was one of those times.

Gabriel opened one eye and then shut it tight again. He moaned like someone who was remorsefully about a night of intense drinking. Jack waited patiently while Gabriel slowly woke. When he finally surfaced Gabriel looked up at Jack and smiled brightly.

"How are you feeling?"

"Surprised to be alive." Gabriel chuckled. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me, the blood transfusion was Dr. Brightman's idea."

"I meant 'thank you for coming back for me'."

"Well I had already given you the speech about not leaving anyone behind."

"I wasn't exactly left behind."

"What were you thinking going after Ba'al yourself?" Sam demanded as she entered the infirmary. 

"Sorry, Ma'am...won't happen again." 

Gabriel went to sit up and found himself tangled in various IV and oxygen tubes. He pulled the oxygen tube clipped to his nose off and then yanked out all of the IV needles out of the back of his hand. Finally free he sat up. 

"Can...can I see Daniel?" Gabriel asked hesitantly.

"I was just about to go visit him myself." Jack replied. "Carter, you coming?"

"Yes, Sir."

Jack offered his hand to Gabriel to help him stand. Although he did not need the assistance he happily accepted it. The three of them made their way wordlessly towards the VIP room that Daniel was being kept in. Jack and Sam could both feel how anxious Gabriel was and they exchanged a sympathetic glance with one another.

Gabriel stepped into the VIP room and his emerald eyes instantly brightened with unshed tears. Daniel was in his new favourite spot, sitting in the corner. Jack had told Teal'c that he was unchanged, but that was somewhat of a lie. Daniel no longer tracked his eyes to follow motion anymore, in fact his gaze had lost all focus.

Kneeling down in front of him Gabriel reached out to touch him. Daniel used to pull away before being touched, but now he only moved if some actually made contact with him. Gabriel brushed Daniel's temple where he still bore the scar from the memory device. 

Daniel tilted his head back to escape Gabriel's touch. Gabriel pulled away and dragged his hands through his hair. The motion was awkward, he wasn't quite used to his new short hair. 

"He's slipped into some sort of waking coma." Jack explained quietly. "Dr. Brightman doesn't know when he'll resurface."

"He won't." Gabriel sighed as he stood back up. "Not on his own."

"There is nothing we can do to help him."

"Yes there is." Gabriel replied confidently. "I can talk to him."

"How?" Sam asked.

"I can take him as a host, I can find him."

"Your current host will die without you." Sam pointed out needlessly.

"There is that risk, but you have some sophisticated life support machines here. You can keep my host alive until I return." Gabriel countered and then turned to Jack. "Please, let me try."

Jack didn't even think about it, he just nodded.

"Thank you." Gabriel said gratefully. 

"First thing tomor..."

"No, we should do this now." Gabriel interrupted. "My blood isn't getting any fresher, and the longer Daniel stays like this the harder it will be to rescue him from himself."

"Carter?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"Call Dr. Brightman, let her know what we want to do and met us in the infirmary."

"Yes, Sir."

Sam went to leave and then stopped. Turning back around she pulled Gabriel into a warm embrace and kissed his cheek. Gabriel was so taken by surprise that the only reaction he had time for a was deep blushing. 

"What was that for?" Gabriel asked with a smile.

"Luck."

Gabriel laughed and pushed Sam away playfully. Sam flashed Jack a shy smile and left to call Dr. Brightman. Gabriel watched her leave and then turned his attention to Daniel. He knelt back down and forced Daniel to at least look in his direction.

"Daniel?" Gabriel asked softly. "Daniel, if we don't get a reaction out of you in the next five minutes...I'm coming in there to get you."

"Is that a promise or a threat?" Jack asked.

"A little bit of both." Gabriel admitted. 

"Well it was a good try." Jack smiled.

Daniel still remained out of touch with the conversation. Gabriel took his hands and guided him to stand up. Daniel tried briefly to free himself before allowing himself to be lead. Jack walked by his side, unable to hide his concern.

"He's going to be okay, Jack. He had so much to return to."

"You make it sound like this is a choice he has made."

"I think it is. Remember Daniel is of Niacine blood, his mind doesn't work the same as a normal Tau'ri's."

"That much I already knew."

Gabriel smiled and continued to lead Daniel towards the infirmary. Sam and Dr. Brightman were already there along with the night staff. Apparently Dr. Brightman had not bothered to go home. The nurses were just finishing up with setting up the life support systems.

"Gabriel," Dr. Brightman said "I honestly don't know how long we're going to be able to keep you alive."

"Just do your best."

"Will we be able to contact you if something goes wrong?" Sam asked.

"No." Gabriel said simply.

With Jack's help Gabriel guided Daniel to lay down on one of the infirmary beds. Once Daniel seemed settled Gabriel himself laid down. The medical crew stood at the ready. Sam looked down at Gabriel anxiously. He winked at her and closed his eyes.

No matter how many times she saw a Goa'uld in the flesh it was still disturbing. Today was no exception. Gabriel's sinuous body slipped from his dead host's neck and snaked out onto his chest. 

Gabriel's shell instantly went into seizure. Sam hastily lifted Gabriel up so that Dr. Brightman could work on getting the empty vessel hooked up the life support. Not wanting to watch Sam turned away. Gabriel wrapped his body around her arm and cried out with his sonic call. Sam tried her hardest not to winch.

"Oy, that's creepy." Jack shivered.

Sam placed Gabriel down on Daniel's bed and he quickly burrowed into Daniel's neck. Jack and Sam held their breath while they waited. Daniel's eyes suddenly snapped into focus, however it was instantly clear to Sam that it was Gabriel looking out. He looked over to where Dr. Brightman was placing a breathing tube down 'his' throat.

"I think I'd rather go back to Daniel's room than stay here." Gabriel said as he turned away. 

"I don't see a problem with that." Jack agreed. 

Trusting that Dr. Brightman would do everything in her power to keep 'Gabriel' alive they left. Back in the VIP room Gabriel sat down on the bed. He raked Daniel's hands through his hair. Looking up at Daniel's nervous friends he forced a smile.

"Well, Daniel's hiding. He's not answering a simple call...but don't worry I'll find him." Gabriel assured. "Please do not be alarmed if I do not respond for the next day or two."

Jack and Sam nodded and Gabriel laid down as though he was just going to take a nap. They stayed and watched him for an hour before sleep began to get the better of them both. Finally Jack took Sam's wrist and led her to the VIP room across the hall. She didn't offer any more resistance than Daniel had when he suggested that she lay down.

When Jack turned to leave Sam reached out and gently took his hand. Surprised he looked back at her and saw an unmistakable silent request for him to stay. Jack found himself completely paralyzed by indecision. 

Sighing heavily he pulled his hand away from her. Sam nodded sadly, understanding why he couldn't fulfill the simple request. Jack swiftly made his way to the door, but once he had his hand on the handle he was frozen once again.

Sam's ears caught the delicate sound of the door being locked. She knew that it could mean the end of both of their careers by morning. However at the moment she didn't care, she just didn't want to be alone. 

Near exhaustion Jack walked back over to the bed. Sam moved over so that he could join her. He laid down on his back and she hesitantly curled up on her side next to him. 

"Do you think Daniel is going to be okay, Sir?"

"If anyone can help him...Gabriel can."


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-three

"Daniel Melburn Jackson." Gabriel growled in frustration like a mother scolding a child. "How is anyone supposed to find anything in here?"

Gabriel stooped down and pick up one of the countless books laying on the floor. He turned it over in his hand so that he could see the binding. A subject title along with a volume number was emblazoned on it in softly glowing Ancient letters. 

He opened the book and leafed through the silver pages, glancing at the aqua writing. Sighing heavily he closed the text and looked around at the endless empty rows of mahogany bookshelves that stretched out into the darkness in all directions. Tucking the book under his arm Gabriel stepped over and on the others that were strewn about the floor.

The manifestation of the infinite library of Ancient Knowledge had a single light source which Gabriel swiftly made his way towards. A gently glowing white orb danced happily in place a few hundred yards away. Approaching quietly Gabriel found what he was looking for.

Daniel was sitting on the floor, bathed in the soft light of the orb. He had surrounded himself with a somewhat organized pile of books and was currently pawing through one of them. Gabriel looked at the dozen or so half stocked shelves around Daniel and wondered how long it had taken him to decided where each of the books should be placed.

Gabriel sighed heavily. He could tell that Daniel had noticed the sound, but he was actively ignoring the intruder. Gabriel shifted his weight uncomfortably, trying to think of what to say. When he didn't come up with anything he simply took the book from under his arm and placed it on the nearest shelf.

"That doesn't belong there." Daniel said sternly without taking his eyes off his book.

"You're the one who doesn't belong here."

Daniel looked up over his glasses at Gabriel and narrowed his eyes. He closed the book he was reading and got to his feet. Walking over to Gabriel he pulled the newly placed book off the shelf and went back to his place on the floor. He set the retrieved book down and picked up the one he had originally been working on.

"Da..."

"Go away."

"Daniel, please put that book down and look at me."

"You sound like a mother." Daniel growled as he continued to sightless scan the book in his hand.

"I'm trying to sound like your friend." Gabriel replied softly. "Please, I know you've been through a lot, but hiding here isn't going to help."

"I'm not going back." Daniel said icily. "There is nothing for me there."

"I know a few people who would be heartbroken to hear you say that, Daniel. Your friends need you. After everything they've done for you...it might be nice if you felt the same way."

Daniel stopped pretending read and slowly closed the book. He stared at the closed book for a while. Gabriel waited patiently while Daniel wrestled with his thoughts. This was not the state he had expected to find Daniel in. He had been prepared to calm him down, to let him know he was safe, but he got the feeling that at least part of Daniel already knew that. Eventually Daniel looked up at him with an expression of defeat.

"How...how are they?" Daniel asked hesitantly. "Are they alright?"

"I'm not telling you." Gabriel snarled.

"What?"

"If you can't find it within yourself to live your own life then clearly they mean nothing to you."

"That's not true!" Daniel cried. "They mean the world to me."

"Then why won't you come back?"

Daniel didn't answer. He just looked away and shook his head. Once again his expression settled into one of guilt. Gabriel's skin chilled, there was something going on here, but he couldn't imagine what it was. Gabriel took a step closer, but stopped when he saw Daniel cringe at his approach. 

"Daniel, I know you're afraid..."

"This has nothing to do with fear."

"Please, Daniel, tell me what's going on here. I don't understand. What are you hiding? Why do you feel like you need to stay?"

"I don't need to stay...I want to."

"Want to? Why?"

"Because...because I'm happy here." Daniel admitted as though it was something to be ashamed of.

"Happy?" Gabriel repeated incredulously. He waved his hands around at the vast cavern. "Happy...surrounded by a library of books you will never understand? This is what you want, to be alone forever?"

"I'm not alone."

Gabriel knit his brow in confusion. Rather than explain Daniel simply stood up. He looked to his right and held out his hand. When nothing happened Daniel stepped over to the nearest bookshelf and reached behind it. Gabriel gasped in surprise and took a step back. 

"Sha...Sha're?" Gabriel breathed in disbelief.

Daniel had Sha're by the wrist in a delicate grip. He brought her out into the open with a few soothing words. She was hesitant about it, but trusted him. Sha're flinched at the sound of her name and looked to Daniel. He smiled at her reassuringly. 

Clearly terrified of Gabriel Sha're buried her face into Daniel's chest. Daniel's eyes brightened with tears as he wrapped his arms around her protectively. She clung tightly to his shirt as though she thought someone might try to tear her away. Daniel smiled sadly and stroked her thick auburn hair with one hand.

"It's okay, Sha're," Daniel whispered softly "he's not here to hurt us."

"I...I don't understand." Gabriel admitted. "How..."

"Apparently she is even more skilled with a hand device than I am."

"Of course...Amonet, when she was trying to kill you..."

"I thought that Sha're was simply speaking to me through the hand device. But she actually...I guess 'transferred herself' is the best way to explain it. I've held other souls before, I just never thought she could be one of them."

"Sha're...is this true? You've been hiding, here in Daniel's subconscious this whole time?"

Sha're did not answer Gabriel, she refused to even look at him. She turned her face up to look at Daniel with her dark brown eyes bright with tears and anxiety. For a moment all Daniel could do was stare at her, lost in her beauty.

"Ha...have I done wrong, Husband?" Sha're whimpered.

"No, no of course not." Daniel smiled and kissed her forehead. "I love you."

Sha're smiled shyly and nuzzled against his chest once more. Tears slipped from Daniel's azur eyes and he hugged her tigher. Gabriel stared at the pair, part of him rejoiced to see them reunited, but the other side of him feared that this would only led to madness. At first he had believed this to be a trick of Daniel's mind, but he knew better now. He could feel her, and the implications of it terrified him.

"Daniel," Gabriel said in alarm "this is...insane."

"Is it?" Daniel asked seriously. "For the first time things are actually making sense to me."

"Really?"

"Really." Daniel confirmed. "I was always so angry that Oma would save the Harsesis, myself, even all of Abydos and yet let Sha're just die. But I can see now that she couldn't save her because she couldn't find her."

"She is good at hiding." Gabriel agreed ruefully. "I...I never noticed her here before."

"That's because she noticed you first. She was so afraid of you that she didn't even dare come near me when you had me trapped here...but she was the one who helped me break through, without me even knowing it."

"Dan..."

"She was the first thing I remembered after Ascension, not just because she meant so much to me, but because she reminded me herself. My dreams of her that have kept the wound of losing her fresh felt so real because in a way they were." 

"Daniel, stop." Gabriel said sternly. "You and Sha're can't have a life here like this."

"Why not?"

Gabriel opened his mouth to answer but realized that he didn't have a reasonable argument. Daniel could see that he was winning and smiled. Closing his eyes tightly he furrowed his brow in concentration. Gabriel looked around alarmed at the sudden scenery change. They now stood in Daniel's home tent on Abydos. Sha're relaxed some in the new setting and released Daniel's shirt so that she could wrap her arms around his waist.

"Daniel, this isn't real...this isn't Abydos."

"I don't care." Daniel sighed happily. "Sha're is real, and I'm not leaving her. Ever."

"You do realize that your body can not survive this situation for long. You're not eatting, you're not drinking, you're not even sleeping. You two will be thrown back into reincarnation when it dies."

"You can have it." Daniel shrugged.

"Wha...what?"

"My body, you can have it." Daniel clarified. "The dead host you've been walking around in clearly isn't working."

"Daniel, I don't want to live as you...If anything I want to live with you."

"You can visit us." Daniel smiled. "You'll have to leave the SGC though, Jack will never believe you. But I'm sure you can escape, and you'll have the life you've always wanted. So will I."

"No, I...I won't do this again." 

"Again?"

"This...this is what happened to you, this is what happened to Gabriel. He retreated from his life and I stole it from him...from you."

Daniel smiled sadly and untangled himself from Sha're. He walked up to Gabriel and placed his hands on his shoulders. Gabriel cowered from him slightly.

"Gabriel, you're not stealing anything." Daniel said honestly. "I'm giving it to you."

"I don't want it...not like this."

"Then my body will die. It doesn't matter Sha're and I will still be together in the next life, or possiably Acension. I don't know. But I'd rather take my chances by her side than leave her again."

"Daniel...please..."

"I'm not leaving...I love her."


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty-four

Sam woke slowly without opening her eyes. Her blood turned to ice at the sudden brush of hot breath across the back of her neck. It took her a moment to figure out exactly who she was curled up with, and when she figured that out it took another moment reconcile it.

She told herself that it was just one more mistake in a long line of 'it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time'. However, like all such ideas, now that she had rested it was hard to determine what part of it had seemed 'good' or even 'sane' at the time.

Trying her hardest not to wake him Sam very carefully untangling herself from under Jack's sleep heavy arm. Sliding out of the bed she slunk out of the room like a criminal. She tried to tell herself that they had done nothing wrong, and technically they hadn't. However her stomach was still twisted with guilt, which is why she jumped when Dr. Brightman called her name.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Dr. Brightman apologized. 

"It's okay." Sam forced a smile. 

"Do you know where General O'Neill is?"

"Probably sleeping." Sam answered vaguely. "How's 'Gabriel'?"

"Unfortunately that is what I wanted to talk to him about."

"What's wrong?" Sam asked alarmed.

Sam listened to Dr. Brightman's explanation of the situation and her already knotted stomach twisted further. When Dr. Brightman finished Sam found herself once again forcing a smile. The doctor mimicked the expression and headed off in the wrong direction, looking for Jack.

"Maybe I should have just stayed in bed." Sam muttered to herself.

Taking a deep breath Sam opened the door into Daniel's room. Her heart jumped with excitement when Daniel wasn't laying in the bed. However, her hopes for good news were dashed when she discovered where he was. 

Sam still didn't know how she could tell who was in control, but she simply knew that it was Gabriel who was staring into the bathroom mirror. He looked so lost. Then she realized that it was worse than that, he looked like he'd lost something. 

"Gabriel?"

At first Gabriel didn't react. He continued to study the reflection in the glass. Sam reached out to gently touch him, but she thought better of it and lowered her arm again. Gabriel had seen the action in the mirror and a sad smile touched his lips.

"I'm sorry, Sam...I..." Gabriel hesitated. "I couldn't find him."

Sam didn't believe Gabriel for a second. She raised her eye brow skeptically and waited for Gabriel to tell her the truth on his own. However he was too busy staring at himself, or rather Daniel, in the mirror. 

"You couldn't find him...or you couldn't bring him back?"

"Why is it that I can never lie to you?" Gabriel asked with a glimmer of mirth as he turned away from the mirror.

"I don't know, you just can't." Sam smiled. "Gabriel, what's going on?"

"It's happening all over again." Gabriel whimpered. 

Gabriel started to wring his hands compulsively and then dragged them through Daniel's hair. He wouldn't look at Sam, he was starting at the floor in much the same way Daniel had been. Sam watched him as he started to mentally turn in on himself. She wanted to stop him, but right now he looked like he just needed to talk so she felt it best to simply listen.

"He thinks he's happy, and at the moment maybe he is...but I've seen this before. The years will go by and madness will take him." Gabriel continued. "I...I can't watch it again, and I won't."

"Gabriel, calm down. Please, I don't know what you're talking about. Where's Daniel?"

"With Sha're."

"What?" Sam asked shocked.

"She's there, don't ask me how, I don't fully understand it, but she's there and he won't leave her."

"Can you blame him?" Sam asked seriously. 

"No..." Gabriel whispered. "It's just that he has a life to live...a real life."

Sam sighed, she didn't know how to deal with this. She felt like she was back with Daniel right after Sha're had died. She hadn't known what to say then either. It pained her that Daniel didn't want to return, but Sha're was all he ever truly loved. Gabriel stated to shift his weight nervously.

"Please, Sam, please...get me out of here."

"How about I take you down to get something to eat?"

"That's not what I meant. I want out of Daniel."

"That...um...that could be a problem."

"Sam?" Gabriel asked nervously when she didn't continue.

"Your host...the life support wasn't enough." Sam admitted. "Dr. Brightman could keep his heart and lungs going, but the rest of his organs...well...they, um..."

"Liquefied?" Gabriel asked gingerly.

"Basically." Sam said meekly. "I'm so sorry Gabriel."

"I have to leave, Sam, I...I have to." Gabriel's eyes brightened with tears. "Please, I can't stay in here."

Sam got the unmistakable feeling that there was something Gabriel wasn't telling her. His misery was physically palpable, making his every breath laboured, his every motion listless. He couldn't even cry, his borrowed bright blue eyes were starting to dull.

"What about Daniel?" Sam asked quietly. 

"If he doesn't want to live his life, I don't want to live it for him."

Sam's heart felt like it was going to break. It suddenly looked like animating Daniel's flesh was too great a burden for Gabriel to bear. Afraid he might collapse Sam reached out to support him. Just like Daniel he took a step back to keep her from touching him.

"Gabriel, just give Daniel a little time..."

"Please, Sam, set up an aquarium for me...I want to be alone."

"You can't live in a tank forever."

"I don't want to live forever."


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter Thirty-five

Jack sat on the floor in front of Daniel who had taken up his place in the corner. Sam had given him a brief summary of all that had gone on that morning and he was still trying to process it. He was having a hard time believing that Sha're was somehow hiding in Daniel's mind, but he decided that if Daniel could hide in there why couldn't someone else.

"I would love to be able to say: 'If you're happy, I'm happy', but we both know that's complete bullshit." Jack admitted. "If I'm going to be honest, and I might as well be, I don't want to lose you...again. 

Don't get me wrong, you're a total pain in the ass to have around, you always have been, and that's never changed. Yet somewhere along the way I grew accustom to having a thorn in my side, it's better than a bleeding wound."

Jack chuckled hollowly and then sighed. Reaching out he slipped his hand under Daniel's jaw and tilted his head up. Daniel still wasn't actually looking at Jack, but he wanted his friend to at least be facing him.

"Yeah, you're right, it is selfish of me." Jack smiled sadly. "How about instead I say: 'If you're happy, then I'm happy for you'. I just want you to know, I'm not angry. If I was in your position, I don't think I would come back either."

Letting Daniel go Jack got to his feet. He waited a moment, in case he got a reaction. When Daniel simply bowed his head again Jack turned and left. Out in the hall he quickly ran into Dr. Brightman. 

"Hello, Sir." Dr. Brightman said with as much cheer as she felt appropriate.

"Hey, Doc." Jack muttered a greeting.

"Sir," Dr. Brightman hesitated for a moment "we need to talk about what we are going to do with Dr. Jackson."

"Give him a little more time." Jack sighed. "If pushing turns to shoving... I'll have him institutionalized."

Dr. Brightman nodded her agreement and went to cheque on her patient. Jack wandered off, slowly making his way towards Sam's lab. When he got there he found her already working. Her entire concentration was fixated on the computer screen in front of her. On the desk lay the Crystals they had stolen with wires attached to them to allow her to interface with them.

Not wanting to startle her Jack knocked quietly on the open door. Sam looked up with an annoyed expression, but it quickly turned to a timid smile when she saw who it was. Jack smiled himself, and marveled at how well they both were at always pretending that nothing had happened between them, no matter how many times it happened.

"Find anything interesting?" Jack asked casually.

"Hard to tell, right now all I've got is a whole lot of gibberish." Sam replied with a noise of frustration. "Not only is it coded, but it's also encrypted. Curretnly I'm working on the encryption, we'll wait till I get past that before worrying about the translating."

Jack just nodded. He took a breath to say something, but he realized that he didn't have anything to say. An awkward feeling hung in the air between then like an oppressive humidity. The computer Sam was working on made a beeping noise and she used it as an excuse to look away.

Just as happy to be free from the situation Jack walked over to the hexagon tank on the counter that Gabriel was in. His sinuous body was curled up on the bare glass floor of the aquarium. With his fins clamped he laid with his head propped up on his tail. He was breathing heavily and made no sign of whether or not he knew he was being watched.

"Carter, I never thought I'd say this about a Snake, but he actually looks depressed."

"That's probably because he is, Sir."

Jack stared back into the water at the sulking Goa'uld. A small part of him had thought that this whole thing was an act. That he had simply not even tried to find Daniel and that he was waiting for them to ask him to at least keep Daniel alive by using him as a host. Seeing Gabriel now Jack felt guilty for even letting the thought cross his mind.

"Did he tell you what he wanted us to do with him?" Jack asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"Carter, he can't stay in your office. Eventually he's going to starve, right?"

"Actually, Sir, he can go centuries without eating."

"I see. In that case we should get some plastic plants, maybe a little treasure chest that blows bubbles."

"Sir." Sam admonished.

"I know, I know. This is serious." Jack said somberly. "Okay, I'll see if I can unburn some bridges with the Tok'ra..."

"Gabriel doesn't want to live with the Tok'ra."

"I don't know what else to do for him."

"Just give him some more time."

"Fine." Jack grumbled in frustration. "In fact I think we could all use some. I'm going home, you're going to do the same."

"Sir?"

"Go home, get some rest. That's an orde..."

Jack was cut off by the Base alarms for an unscheduled off world activation. Jack rolled his eyes and muttered something to the effect of 'Oy vey'. Sam followed on his heels as he briskly made his to the Control Room.

"Who is it?" Jack growled.

"The Alpha Site, Sir." The technician replied.

"Can't Ba'al wait just a little longer to gloat." Jack muttered. "Carter, stay here."

Jack marched down into the Gateroom and waited impatiently. The new iris remained firmly shut, but that did not stop Ba'al's hologram from appearing. After a quick look around Ba'al strode up to Jack as though he was late for an important meeting.

"O'Ne..."

"Go away." Jack said simply.

"Now, now, be polite." Ba'al mocked. "I've come to make a deal with you."

"Not interested."

"Don't be so quick to speak on behalf of your entire wretched planet." Ba'al replied with a smile. "I only want things that don't belong to you anyway."

"Then what makes you think I have them?"

"Don't be coy, we know each other far too well for that." Ba'al chuckled. "I want the Crystals you stole, and I want Gabriel. In return I will give you back your Alpha Site and I won't send my fleet to destroy you."

"First of all that isn't the Alpha Site, it's just a mock-up." Jack lied. "So you can have it, although I hear the winters get fairly chilly on that planet so I suggest you install some central heating."

"I will keep that in mind. And what of your Tau'ri world, do you care so little for that as well?"

"Listen you slimy parasite, I would love **nothing** more than for you to come here with your fleet so that I can personally drop you from the sky the way I did with Anubis." 

"You truly wish me to call your bluff over Gabriel?"

"It is not a bluff." Jack lied once more. 

"I guess there is only one way to find out."

"Bring it on." Jack shrugged, although internally he couldn't believe he'd just said that. 

Ba'al was somewhat confused by the statement, but he didn't ask for clarification. He looked past Jack and up into the Control Room where Sam was watching him coldly. Looking disinterested Ba'al lazily brought his attention back to Jack.

"How's Jackson?" Ba'al asked with mock concern. "The last time I saw him he was whimpering like a lost kitten, begging me for mercy."

Jack didn't have a reply, it was all he could do to keep himself from throwing a punch at the irritating hologram. The look of smug self satisfaction that spread across Ba'al's features was physically sickening. 

Ba'al looked around and said something to the effect that once his fleet arrived he would give them one last chance to give up Gabriel and the Crystals. After the hologram vanished Jack stared vacantly at the Stargate before closing his eyes in defeat.

"Maybe I should have just stayed in bed..."


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter Thirty-six

Daniel couldn't breath. He couldn't breath.

Something in the back of his mind was screaming at him, telling him that this wasn't happening now because it had already happened. However, he could barely hear that voice because the terror of asphyxiation was consuming his senses. 

He had lost track of how many times he'd been through this, a dozen, a thousand...once had been too many. All he truely knew was that it never got any easier. Eventually Ba'al had run out of water, but not ideas. He had taken to puncturing Daniel's arteries and collecting the normally life giving crimson fluid to force down his throat.

If anything the blood was worse than the water. Its metallic tang and warm viscosity made him sick. Even now he gagged breathlessly against it. The only release from the painful reflex was when death finally seized him.

Having gone five minutes without a breath Daniel's vision darkened and then everything was still. Even though he was paralyzed by death tears slipped down his face just as the bone snapping spasm that followed racked his frame. The agony escaladed quickly and then ebbed slowly as the ring gave him life once more. When Daniel could breath again he used his first gasp for a single word.

"Stop!"

"Are you begging me?" Ba'al chuckled.

"Yes." Daniel whimpered. "Yes, I'm begging you."

"You don't have to do that." Ba'al said sympathetically. "All you have to do is leave your host."

"I'm not a Goa'uld!" Daniel cried with all his heart.

"Fine." Ba'al shrugged. "If you're not Gabriel, if you are indeed Daniel Jackson...what are you doing here?"

"I...I don't remember." Daniel panted.

"Really?" Ba'al asked skeptically.

"I swear, right now I...I'm having trouble recalling anything beyond my name..."

Daniel screamed as Ba'al forced the sharp knife into his shoulder and twisted it. He didn't have the strength to hide his pain from Ba'al anymore. Even though the ring healed the wound when Ba'al pulled the blade out Daniel still wept.

"You're not looking for your daughter are you?" Ba'al a asked suddenly.

"Daughter?" Daniel repeated in confusion. "I...I don't have a daughter."

"Are you sure?" 

Ba'al approached closer so that his hot breath washed against Daniel's face. Daniel said nothing more, having Ba'al this close was enough to bring him back to the brink of panic. His skin crawled as Ba'al placed the knife point behind his ear and slowly traced the cold steel blade down to the throbbing artery in his neck.

Daniel closed his eyes, unable to watch the enjoyment in Ba'al's eyes. He couldn't keep from moaning against the thought of going through the drowning again. Ba'al began to press the tip into Daniel's throat to collect his blood.

"She died..." Daniel admitted tearfully. "My daughter died before she was born. Sha're had a miscarriage during a sand storm...it...it was my fault for not being there for her..."

Ba'al stared intensely at Daniel before smiling cryptically and then nodding. He took the pressure off the knife and seemed to contemplate his next move. Daniel started to hyperventilate as Ba'al walked over to his table and retrieved a second knife and brought them both over. 

"I'm getting tired." Ba'al smiled. "As I'm sure you are as well. So I'm going to give you two options on how you're going to spend your evening. You can suffer under the influence of the ring, or you can rest peacefully in a cell. I might even allow you to be with Samantha, perhaps she can offer you some solace before we begin again."

Daniel didn't say anything, he just stared at the floor.

"For a night of rest all you have to give me is a single useful truth." Ba'al grined. "Just one...any one."

"I'm not a Goa'uld."

"I'm starting to believe that...but that's not very useful."

"It's the only truth I have to give you."

An uncharacteristic look of pity touched Ba'al face. He looked down at the pair of daggers in his hands and then casually walked behind his victim. With inhuman strength Ba'al drove the daggers through Daniel's shoulder blades.

Daniel screamed silently as the searing blades sliced into his lungs. His back arched violently in a desperate attempt to escape the literally breath taking pain. Ba'al started to walk out of the room and Daniel realized that he was going to be left like this. As the blades flooded his chest with blood his vision once again darkened.

The pain vanished, but his fear did not. With renewed strength Daniel thrashed violently, tugging at the restraints till the bit into his skin. Suddenly he found that his wrists were free although the rest of him body seemed to be tangled. A cool touch against his forehead escalated his panicked desire to escape.

"Danielle..."

The female voice did not help Daniel's state of mind. He tore himself free of whatever was holding him back and lashed out blindly. Catching a hold of flesh he attacked like a rabid dog. Sha're didn't fight against him as he rolled over and pinned her to bed. Tears slipped from the corners of her dark eyes as he wrapped his hands around her throat.

"Danielle." Sha're whimpered.

Daniel froze and finally saw what he was doing. He released her and scrambled off the bed, looking around the ornate tent. He shook his head trying to clear it. Sha're got up and fearlessly walked up to him. She stepped up and affectionately nuzzled against his chest.

"Sha're?" Daniel asked in bemusement. "I...I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"It is alright, you have simply not learned to control yourself."

"Wha...what happened?" Daniel stuttered. "What's happening?"

"You fell into a memory, I could not get you out."

Daniel looked around again and then pinched the bridge of his nose. It had been so real. Then again this seemed real now too. Sha're embraced him as though trying to keep him with her. He shook his head again, but couldn't clear the memory.

"Husband?" Sha're asked quietly.

"There is something about what Ba'al said that keeps bothering me." Daniel answered vacantly. "Something about a daughter. I don't understand..."

"It does not matter now, Husband."

Daniel snapped out of his reverie and looked down at the beautiful creature in his arms. She smiled shyly, her eyes bright with worry. Daniel smiled warmly and pulled her into a passionate kiss. He released her and held her out at arms length so that he could look at her.

"You're right...you are all that matters now." 


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter Thirty-seven

"Sir..."

"Not a word."

"But, Sir..."

"Carter!" Jack snapped. "Not a word!"

Sam made a noise of frustration and followed Jack as he stalked towards his office. Picking up the red phone on his desk he barked some orders about getting the Prometheus in battle condition. Sam waited patiently for him to make a few other phone calls before speaking up again.

"Sir, the Prometheus isn't really equip to defend us against a Goa'uld fleet."

"Really?" Jack asked in mock surprise. "I did not know that."

"I'm just suggesting that we may need to start thinking about evacuating some people to the Beta Site."

"Carter, the Beta Site is little more than a glorified campground."

"It's better than nothing."

"What I need you to do is find another one of those Ancient head grabber thing-a-ma-bobs."

"I don't think there are anymore." Sam replied. 

"In that case, I'm going to see what favours I can call in. You...I don't know...do whatever you feel is best."

"Sir?"

"You're a Colonel now, Carter, you can make decision on your own. You always come up with the best plans anyway."

Sam smiled and Jack mimicked the expression wanly. Realizing that Jack was just trying to get her out of his office so that he could call the President Sam ducked out. Making her own decision she headed back down to the lab, hoping that if she could get something off the Crystal that it might be useful in at least stalling Ba'al's attack.

Gabriel was still sulking at the bottom of the aquarium on her counter. Sam almost smacked herself in the forehead for not thinking of him first. Stepping up to the tank she lifted the glass top and reached into the heated water.

Rearing back like a frightened cobra Gabriel struck a posture that made it look like he might actually bite her. Sam fearless took a gentle hold of him anyway, unlike the Vel'na she knew for a fact that Gabriel would not strike at her. 

Once he saw that his aggressive bluff had don't nothing to deter her he simply turned to struggling. Sam paid him no heed and lifted him up out of the water. He coiled his body around her wrist to keep from falling to the floor, but made no move to take her as a host. 

"Gabriel, please, I need to talk to you."

If she hadn't seen it for herself she would have never believed it, but Gabriel actually managed to look defeated. He twisted around her wrist in indecision a few times before begrudgingly making his way up towards her neck. Sam did her best to remain calm as he burrowed into her neck, but couldn't help a slight trembling.

_"Sam, what are you doing?"_

"I'm sorry, Gabriel, I need to talk to you."

_"What do you want?" _

"You're in my head, don't you already know what's going on?"

_"I am respecting your privacy." _

"Oh...um...thanks." Sam replied awkwardly.

_"I am sorry if Daniel's body is failing him, but I have made it quite clear that I am not going to keep him from death if that is path he's chosen."_ Gabriel grumbled.

"This isn't about Daniel, it's about Ba'al. He's sending his fleet here."

_"I knew this would happen."_ Gabriel sighed. _"I just didn't think it would be so soon. I suppose being back in stasis is no worse than living in your aquarium. Just hand me over to him, he won't risk coming here if he has what he wants."_

"Gabriel, we don't negotiate with terrorists...not even extraterrestrial ones." Sam said firmly. "And even if we did, we wouldn't give Ba'al the time of day let along one of our own."

_"You have no idea what your words mean to me, but I can not accept your loyalty at the expense of your world."_

"You know Gabriel, you are quick to accuse Daniel of giving in, but you are just as guilty."

Sam waited for Gabriel's response, but the only voice in her mind was suddenly her own. After a moment she could actually feel him squirming slightly under her skin. She feared that Gabriel was about to leave her completely. However he did not, he simply sighed in her thoughts.

_"I don't want to give in, Sam, I just don't know what to do."_

"I'm betting Daniel feels the same way." Sam smiled sadly. "However, there is something you can do."

_"Name it." _

"Help us use the Ancient weapon against Ba'al."

_"I can't. " _

"Why not?"

_"I don't know how it works."_ Gabriel admitted._ "That weapon was built long after Gabriel freed himself."_

"Daniel should know how to use it, it has to be somewhere in the Ancient Knowledge he carries."

_"Yes, but he's not of Ancient blood,"_ Gabriel pointed out stubbornly _"I could not activate it using his flesh."_

"Could you take him as a host long enough to learn and then switch to General O'Neill's body?" 

_"Possibly."_ Gabriel mused._ "It would be a lot to learn, but I may be able to do it. If Daniel doesn't try to stop me." _

"Stop you? Gabriel, he would never keep you from helping us."

_"You are assuming he's still sane." _

"And you're assuming he isn't."

_"He has locked himself in a place where Time does not exist with a wound that can only be healed by it." _

"Gabriel, I'm sure Daniel's fine, it's only been a few days."

_"Samantha,"_ Gabriel admonished_ "what part of 'Time does not exist' did you not get?" _

"Don't get me started about 'Time'." Sam muttered. "You're talking to someone who's been back and forth and seen it stretched and broken."

_"You still think he's going to come back, don't you?" _

"I really don't know, but I'm not ready to give up on him just yet."

_"Sam, I've seen this befor..." _

"History may sometimes start to repeat itself, Gabriel, but the outcome isn't necessarily the same."

_"If you shoot someone through the heart, and I can easily predict the outcome."_

"I didn't mean it in such a literal sense, Gabriel." Sam retorted irritably. "I'm just saying that you can't actually know the future no matter how much experience you have in the past."

Gabriel did not appear to have an argument for Sam's point. Once again he had fallen silent. Sam was starting to get a headache from having to verbally battle him like this. She was just about to ask him why he was so reluctant to even try taking Daniel as a host again when suddenly she could hear his gentle chuckle echoing in her mind.

"What's so funny?" Sam asked crossly.

_"We would not make a good symbiotic pair." _Gabriel replied.

"No?"

_"No. We're both too bent on debating..." _

"Keeping us from actually getting anything done." Sam smiled.

_"Exactly." _

"Alright then, let's do something." Sam said firmly. "Will you at least try to learn something from Daniel?"

_"You do realize that in a not-so-round about way Daniel already taught me everything I know." _

"Which would explain your complete inability to give a straight answer to any question." 

_"You're right, I'm sorry."_ Gabriel heaved a mental sigh._ "Alright, take me to Daniel." _

"You say that as though I'm taking you to your death."

_"You might be."_


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter Thirty-eight

Gabriel sat on the floor of the infinitely large Library with one of the books open on his lap. The Library was not real in the sense that one had to find the right book, every book was blank until you opened it. The manifestation of the Library was just something Daniel had created to keep himself busy.

However at the moment Daniel was no where to be seen. Gabriel assumed that he was just being actively ignored, and in all honesty that suited him just fine. Placing his palms of the imaginary book Gabriel concentrated on what he was trying to find. 

Soon he had a general idea of how the Ancient Weapon worked, but so far he still didn't know any specifics. His concentration was suddenly broken as another soul entered the limitless confines of the Library. Gabriel didn't pay the intruder any attention, he had work to do.

"My Lord?" Sha're asked meekly.

"'Gabriel'."

"Lord Gabriel, you..." Sha're hesitated "you are a friend of my husband?"

"I'd like to think so," Gabriel muttered "but I don't for sure."

"I...I was...I..." Sha're stuttered.

Gabriel sighed as he continued to search the Library. Sha're was obviously on the verge of nervous collapse from having to talk to him. He didn't blame her. Everything that had ever gone wrong in her latest life was due to his Children. At the same time he was not here to interfere with Daniel's decisions. Unable to speak Sha're stepped closer and respectfully knelt down in front of him.

"Don't do that." Gabriel snarled. "Go away."

"Please...Danielle needs help." Sha're begged. "He will not wake."

"That is because he is not sleeping." Gabriel replied without looking up from his book. 

"Please."

Gabriel was forced to glance up at her. He sighed and put the book down, knowing that she was not going to leave him alone. Whatever Daniel was going through it was of his own doing and Gabriel doubted that he could offer more than temporary relief, if any at all. However the look Sha're was giving him was heartbreaking. 

When he stood up Sha're coward in fear. He forced a smile and helped her to her feet. It was hard for Gabriel to see her so fearful of him, when she had been with the original Gabriel she had never feared anything. He wished he could believe that it wasn't his fault, but he knew better.

"It's going to be okay, Sha're, you will not have to endure this in-between world much longer."

"Danielle..."

"Yes, I will help him." Gabriel assured. 

"Thank you."

Gabriel smiled once again. He closed his eyes and concentrated on finding Daniel. It was not difficult to guess where was. When Gabriel opened his eyes again he was back on Ba'al's ship. Daniel was alone, hanging nearly lifeless from the ring.

"...if I can." Gabriel sighed.

With a heavy heart Gabriel walked up to Daniel, hoping that just the fact that he was here might snap him out of this looping memory. Daniel did not notice his approach so Gabriel gently tilted his head back. Daniel's clear blue eyes focused on him, but there was no hint of recognition. 

"Daniel?"

"I...I don't have a daughter..." Daniel whispered.

"What?"

"She died..."

"Daniel, stop this." Gabriel said softly. "You can't change what happened by living it over and over."

"I'm not trying to change it," Daniel answered vacantly "I'm trying to understand it..."

"Daniel, listen to me, there is no understanding it. A soul like yours will never comprehend such cruelty, so don't torture yourself by trying."

"It means something." Daniel insisted as his eyes rolled back. 

"No, it doesn't." Gabriel replied firmly. 

Gabriel's blood flashed to ice as Daniel started to convulse. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Gabriel didn't know what to do, he couldn't take Daniel down or even take the blades from his back because none of it was real. He reached out and gently ran his hand through Daniel's sweat drenched hair.

"Daniel," Gabriel whispered softly "Daniel, take me to the Library."

"The Library?" Daniel echoed weakly.

"Yes, the Library, let's go there together. Perhaps the answer you're looking for is there."

Daniel knit his brow in thought and then nodded. Gabriel was grateful when the scenery shifted. Daniel seemed lost by the sudden switch, even though he had instigated it himself. He caught sight of Gabriel and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Gabriel? What are you doing here?"

"Just...um...checking in." Gabriel answered cautiously, confused by Daniel's sudden change.

"I don't believe that for a second." Daniel said suspiciously. "Why are you really here?"

"I simply wanted to learn all I could from the Ancient Knowledge you store before your body fails."

"That doesn't sound like you." Daniel accused. "What's happening out there? What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong beyond the fact that your friends mourn for their loss."

"They understand." Daniel said defensively.

"Yes, they do. But that does not make their grief any less valid."

Daniel's expression turned to one of guilt. He mimicked Gabriel's habit by pulling his hands through his hair. 

"Have they asked you to keep me alive?"

Gabriel nodded. 

"I still don't see why you don't." Daniel smiled. "You could have the life you've always wanted."

"At the cost of yours."

"I'm not going back to my life either way. The only question is are you going to make me start again or allow me to stay here with Sha're."

"You want to stay here, reliving your time with Ba'al?"

"Given a little more time I learn to control my memories, maybe even forget them. Perhaps you can even help me with them the way you did with Gabriel."

All of the colour drained away from Gabriel's face at Daniel's words. He looked around as though hoping to see an exit, realizing there was none he just sighed and cast his gaze the floor. His eyes brightened with unshed tears. 

"Gabriel?"

"I...I never helped you...him...which ever way you want think of it." Gabriel admitted. "I tried. But in the end I only drove Gabriel mad."

"I thought you said the War drove him mad."

"It started it." Gabriel nodded. "After his wife's death and Leena's capture he became suicidal. He told me he couldn't fight anymore, he was too weary. However, I was not ready to die so I offered to bring him here, the same way Sha're pulled you in here to shield you. I thought that it would help, that he would get better and want to return to his life."

"You didn't want control?"

"No," Gabriel said honestly "I was happy the way things were. I thought that by giving him some time that he would recover, but there is no Time here. Once I saw that he was getting worse I tried to convince him to return, but he would not. I don't know exactly what happened to him, but he became progressively less rational and increasingly violent.

I...uh...I don't remember how long it took. I visited him less and less often as he became less agreeable. Eventually I simply made it a yearly tradition. Upon my return one year he made a demand that I did not expect..."

"He asked for his life back, didn't he?" Daniel asked when Gabriel did not respond.

"He did." Gabriel nodded. "I did not think it was my place to stop him."

"It wasn't."

"Which is why I gave it to him."

Gabriel fell silent again. He closed his eyes and raked his hands through his hair compulsively at the memory. Daniel shifted his weight uncomfortably, not entirely sure he wanted to know more.

"What happened?" Daniel eventually asked.

"He went on a rampage. I will spare you the gory detail of your own past life. Let's suffice it to say that he was a danger to everyone, including himself. He had to be stopped. Once again, I was not ready to die...but Gabriel could not be allowed to live."

"So you repressed him." Daniel concluded. "Locked him away the way that the Goa'uld do to their hosts."

"Yes." Gabriel whispered. "He was no longer the man I knew. I am guessing that he spent hundreds of years obsessing about his loss and it drove him to an insatiable blood lust. He was insane...I can't believe that Leena found it in her heart to forgive 'him' when I took back over."

"You sound like you blame yourself, but you were only trying to help."

"I wasn't trying to help him once I repressed him. I was trying to hold on to my own life. If I had true courage I would have let him die, I would have let him move on to another life. Instead basically threw him in a cage. I stole thousands of years from him...from you. I won't do it again."

"Gabr..."

"It is bad enough that I have ruined your life again." Gabriel whimpered. "I should have never dragged you into this. I should have just faced Ba'al on my own to begin with. For what it is worth: I am sorry."

As tears slipped down Gabriel's face Daniel wondered how this man could have spawned such a mindlessly violent and selfish race. He reached out and placed his hand on Gabriel's shoulder. The guilt and misery of everything that had happened was painted clearly on his face. 

"Gabriel, if you had gone alone it would have just ended up being you in that ring and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy...let alone a friend." Daniel pointed out and then forced a smile. "Besides it has given me a second chance with Sha're, even if only for a short time."

"Be sure to enjoy it." Gabriel said honestly. "Once your physical self has died you two will have the choice between Ascension and Death."

"I recall you once telling me to chose Death." Daniel smiled sadly.

"I stand by my advice. I do not believe you will be happy Ascended, even with Sha're. You can not handle not being able to change the physical world...which is why you are unhappy now. If you came bac..."

"I'm not unhappy." Daniel interrupted. "If I could just learn to control my memories..."

"You can not." Gabriel replied simply. "They will haunt you until lose them through reincarnation."

"If that's true then even if I did return to my life they would torment me."

"Yes." Gabriel nodded. "However, in Life there is the ability for Time to dull them. Here Past, Present and Future are one. Which is why it seems like it keeps happening. A bleeding cut can not heal. In Life the blood would stop, and you would have a powerful weapon against it."

"What's that?"

"Your friends, Daniel."

"I have my family here."

"Sha're can not help you."

"Why not?" 

"She is no happier here, and no safer."

"Then why hasn't she left?"

"Because you won't let her go."


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter Thirty-nine

_"You're not looking for your daughter, are you?" _

Daniel couldn't get it out of his mind. Nothing could keep Ba'al's words from replaying over and over again. He had come to a point where he could keep himself from falling into the memory of the physical pain, however the words alone were enough to torment him. 

Laying in bed he was just staring up at the tent ceiling trying to figure out what Ba'al had meant by them. He was starting to wonder if Ba'al had been talking to Gabriel. Although that didn't make much sense since all female Goa'uld were technically Gabriel's daughters. 

"Husband?"

Daniel turned his attention to Sha're who was laying next to him. For the first time he noticed that her dark eyes had lost the fire that they had had when he'd met her. The years of being a host had done far more damage than he'd cared to imagine, but he could see it now. 

He brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. She smiled with her lips, but her eyes remained sorrowful. She tried to hide the fact that she was reliving her own horrendous experiences, but she could not keep the pain out of her eyes. She was miserable here. 

Torn with indecision Daniel stood up and began to pace. Sha're got up as well, standing to one side to give Daniel room to prowl. When he noticed the frightened look on her beautiful face he stopped his pointless motion. Stepping up to her he put his hands gently on her shoulders.

"Sha're..."

"You can not stay." Sha're finished. 

"I'm so sorry."

"I knew you could not stay." Sha're sighed.

"Neither can you."

"Danielle?" 

"I love you...and you know what they say if you should do if you love something."

"I do not understand."

"You set it free." Daniel smiled. 

"No, I wish to say here...I can be with you even if you leave."

"This place isn't being with me...this is a prison."

"It is a far better life than being a Goa'uld."

"No, Sha're, this is not a life. Gabriel was right, and I'm not being fair to anyone...least of all you. You have to move on, for both of us."

"Will I see you again?"

Daniel smiled as tears stung his eyes. He pulled her into a powerful embrace and just held her. Sha're nuzzled against him as she began to cry. He rocked her gently and stroked her thick curly dark hair. 

"We can not be kept apart." Daniel whispered reassuringly. "We will be together again...and next time we'll get it right." 

"Do you promise?" Sha're smiled shyly. 

"I promise." Daniel purred. "I love you and I always will."

"I love you...so I will set you free."

Daniel stared into Sha're's tear reddened eyes, memorizing the soul behind them in hopes that he would recognize her sooner next time. Pushing herself up on her tip toes Sha're kissed him with a slight trembling to her lip. He closed his eyes, enjoying the moment. 

When he opened them again she was gone.

Daniel stared up at a white ceiling. He took a deep breath, the cold air soothing on his lungs rather than the harsh sting he had been expecting. He had also been prepared to feel the grief of losing Sha're pressing on his heart like a vice. 

However, this wasn't the case. If anything he felt a relief and sense of serenity that he'd thought he'd never live to feel again. His one source of discomfort at the moment was the back of his throat. It was so dry that he could barely swallow.

"Jack?" Daniel called weakly. "Jack?"

When there was no reply Daniel tried to sit up. Discovering that his wrists were once again tethered Daniel was instantly thrown into a violent sea of panic. He fought useless against the restraints before arching his back with a desperate cry. 

"Get Dr. Brightman, now!"

The order had been barked on the far side of the door by an unfamiliar voice, but it still had a calming effect. Daniel took the time to look around and found himself in a standard VIP room in the SGC. The heart monitor and IV unit near by helped cement his reality more firmly in his mind. By the time Dr. Brightman arrived Daniel had managed to bring his heart rate almost back down to normal.

"Dr. Jackson?" 

"Hello." Daniel greeted warmly.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine, except for the restraints."

"They were just to keep you from hurting yourself." Dr. Brightman explained.

"I understand, but I'd still appreciate having them off."

"Of course." Dr. Brightman said quickly.

Once free Daniel sat up slowly and rubbed at his wrists. They didn't hurt, but the memory of being suspended from them still bothered him. He shook his head to clear the thought. When he saw the practiced look of medical concern on Dr. Brightman's face he forced a smile.

"May I?" Dr. Brightman asked as she held up her pen light.

Daniel nodded and allowed her to flash the irritating light across his face. He winced as the bright light stung his sapphire eyes. Dr. Brightman held up one finger in his field of vision and moved it back and forth. Daniel obediently tracked her motion.

"You're a little photo sensitive, but that's not a surprise." Dr. Brightman announced. 

"I told you, I'm fine."

"Well, we'll see about that." Dr. Brightman chuckled. "Actually so far other than being unresponsive your health has been excellent. Although I suspect you are severely dehydrated. Any chance of getting you to drink something?"

"Not...uh...not right now." Daniel replied nervously.

"Okay." Dr. Brightman nodded. "Take your time. The IV should keep you balanced for a while. Can hold out your hand for me."

Daniel held out his hand, trying to keep it steady. Dr. Brightman noticed the slight trembling from his low blood sugar, but she didn't seem too concerned about it. Daniel looked up at the one-way mirror and knit his brow. Misunderstanding his thoughts Dr. Brightman reached over to the nightstand and retrieved Daniel's glasses for him. 

"Where's Jack?" Daniel asked as he pushed the glasses up onto the bridge of his nose.

"He's not here right now." Dr. Brightman answered evasively.

"He left me for dead already?" Daniel chuckled. "How about Gabriel?"

"How about you just try and get some rest." Dr. Brightman replied with a smile. "I'll have the nurse bring you anything that you'd be willing to try to drink...providing that it isn't alcoholic."

"Whoa, wait a minute. Why aren't you answering me? What's wrong with Gabriel?"

"It's nothing to be concerned about."

"Then it's nothing that you can't tell me about." Daniel retorted as he stood up. "What's going on?"

"Dr. Ja..."

"Where...oh my God...where's Sam?! Is she alright?!"

"Dr. Jackson, please, sit back down." Dr. Brightman said firmly. "Your friends are alright, just calm down."

"If they're alright then where are they?!" Daniel demanded. 

Dr. Brightman sighed in defeat. "They're...uh...they're in Antarctica."

"Antarctica!"

The reason behind Gabriel's second visit suddenly became painfully clear. Daniel ripped off both the IV and the heart monitor wires. He stepped around Dr. Brightman and rushed for the door. Dr. Brightman followed Daniel out into the hall, pressing the VIP room's silent alarm as she did so.

"Dr. Jackson!" She called after him. "Where are you going?"

"Where do you think?"

"They left almost twelve hours ago, you have no way of getting to them."

"We'll see about that."

Daniel made his way purposefully down the hall but came to a halt when the doors to the elevator opened and two Airmen stepped out. They approached him slowly and without weapons drawn. Glancing back over his shoulder he saw that Dr. Brightman was already armed with what he guessed to be a sedative. 

"Alright, guys, I don't want anyone to get hurt." Daniel said as he held up his hands.

"Neither do we, Dr. Jackson." One of the Airmen replied honestly.

"Glad to see that we are all in agreement." Daniel smiled. "Dr. Brightman?"

"Yes?"

"Can we just go down to Sam's lab? Hopefully she had a Crystal with her that she needs me to translate. I just want to take a quick look at it."

"Alright." Dr. Brightman conceded. "But please understand that I have orders to keep you on this Base."

"Fair enough."

Daniel led the way downstairs to Carter's lab. The Airmen kept their distance, but they also stayed on high alert, clearly not trusting the Archeologist. Daniel would have been annoyed with them if it wasn't for the fact that he was planning something. He couldn't blame them for having good instincts.

Daniel went to Sam's computer and started typing. However his attention was focused on the Niacine hand device that Carter kept in the small safe in the back corner of the room. He wasn't sure if he could activate it without touching it, but it seemed worth a try. He'd need it if he was going to get out of here. 

Eventually the two guards seemed to become more at ease. Even Dr. Brightman had stopped staring at him with a critical eye. Daniel started typing nonsense into the computer as he put more and more of his attention into the locked up hand device.

The resulting explosion was far more powerful than Daniel had been expecting. The two Airmen and Dr. Brightman had been knocked from their feet and were slow to recover. Daniel had at least been anticipating something so he had the edge against them. He ran to the ruined safe and lifted up the silver hand device. The other contents of the safe had been completely obliterated.

"Sam is **never** going to forgive me." Daniel lamented as he slipped on the hand device.

Concerned that he may have actually hurt someone Daniel returned to Dr. Brightman's side. A brief look over said she wasn't seriously injured. She was trying to sit up, but rather than help her Daniel gently held her down. He looked up at the two Airmen with concern.

"Go get help!"

The young Airmen instantly followed Daniel's orders without question. Once they were gone Daniel started to help Dr. Brightman up. She, however, had other plans. Lashing out like a snake Dr. Brightman tried to sink the sedation injection into his shoulder. 

Daniel saw the flash of the silver needle but feared that he didn't have time to react. Dr. Brightman gasped and dropped the syringe as she suddenly convulsed. Daniel pulled away from her in shock and she instantly calmed. Looking at the stone in his hand device he just caught it changing back from red to its usual purple.

"I...I'm sorry." Daniel stuttered. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Then put the hand device down."

"I can't."

Daniel helped Dr. Brightman sit up and made sure she was okay before leaving. She was on her feet quickly and followed him towards the Gateroom. Daniel noticed he was being followed but didn't worry about it. 

When he got to the Gateroom the door had been shut due to the silent alarm. Daniel was about to use the hand device to destroy the door, but had a thought first. Stepping up to the keypad he punched his code into it. 

He could hear Dr. Brightman swearing at the ease with which Daniel gained access to the Gateroom. She slipped into the room with him just as the door slid closed again. Daniel stood at the bottom of the ramp, staring at the Stargate.

"Dr. Jackson, please, come back to your room." Dr. Brightman said softly. "I'm just trying to help you, you know that."

"I know, and I appreciate it. But I have to do this."

"Do what? The Stargate can't take you anywhere that you can help them."

"That's where you're wrong."

"We are not opening that Gate, Dr. Jackson."

"Then I will."

Daniel had seen the Gate opened without a vortex before. The Nox could initiate a wormhole, and he was confident all of a sudden that he could as well. Closing his eyes he concentrated on where he wanted to go and held his hands out. He heard Dr. Brightman gasp in surprise as the event horizon established. 

He also heard the iris slide shut. Opening his eyes Daniel turned around and glared at the Control Room window. The unauthorized Gate activation alarms rang out. Now that he had displayed some power they were escalating their alert.

"Open this goddamned iris or I will!" Daniel roared.

"Dr. Jackson, I can't let you leave." Dr. Brightman replied evenly. "Please, just calm down."

Daniel narrowed his eyes in obvious annoyance. Turning towards the iris he lifted his hand device and began concentrating on the obstacle in his path. He had seen Gabriel destroy one through a wormhole, so he knew it could be done. The stone in his palm turned a bright hot white as he forced more of his will into it.

The iris quickly started to heat, mimicking the colour of the stone. Daniel was starting to sweat with the effort, but he was not about to give in. The iris started to bow and then suddenly it slid open as though it had been activated. 

Daniel instinctively took a step back from the wormhole that was shimmering in front of him. Confused he turned and glanced up at the Control Room. Colonel Nalin, who had been left in charge, waved to him with a wry smile. Daniel smiled back and nodded his thanks before disappearing though the Gate. 

"Colonel!" Dr. Brightman barked angrily.

"I'm sorry, Doctor, I had to open the iris."

"What? Why?"

"Do you have any idea how expensive those things are?" 


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter Fourty

"Is it hot in here...or is it just me?" Jack demanded irritably.

"Um...I'm fairly certain it's just you, Sir."

"Really?"

Sam nodded and then just to prove her point she took a deep breath and exhaled it as a white cloud. Jack looked around the frozen Ancient outpost and furrowed his brow. He absent mindedly itched at the spot in the back of his neck where Gabriel had burrowed through. 

_"That tickles."_ Gabriel complained.

"Gabriel, what the hell are you doing to me?" Jack grumbled. "It feels like it's a hundred degrees in here."

_"You need to stop fighting me."_ Gabriel replied.

"I'm not fighting you."

_"You are. You're worse than Daniel." _

"What do you mean?"

_"I mean that I've never had such trouble staying connected to a host, even when they've been actively battling against me. So please, just relax." _

"Relax?" Jack spat. "Ba'al's hovering up above waiting to vaporize us...and you want me to relax?"

_"I'm sorry. It's just that the struggle is causing your fever."_ Gabriel explained. _"It is no more comfortable for me than you." _

"Sir?" Sam asked anxiously. "Is everything alright?"

_"Yes."_ Gabriel replied even though she could not hear.

"No." Jack countered. 

"What's wrong?"

"Snake-boy here is mucking about with my thermostat."

_"It will be alright. But we should try and see if we can active anything around here." _

"Fine." Jack shrugged. "Just for the record I have no compunctions about attacking first, so let's just try the Chair."

"Why is he just sitting up there?" Sam asked seriously. "I would think he would have at least tried to take this outpost out. He knows where it is."

"Don't know, don't care."

_"It is a question of ego. He wants to make you sweat because he is certain that he has the upper hand. He said he would contact you for one last chance to hand me over, and he will keep that promise. If for no other reason than to gloat." _

"Gabriel," Jack snarled "what part of 'don't care' didn't you understand?"

_"I was just trying to exspla..."_

"Zip it!"

"Sir?"

"Carter, I don't know how anyone lives like this. It's like having Daniel prattling at me, except I can't escape or tune him out cause he's in my head."

_"Hey! This is no picnic for me either."_ Gabriel retorted._ "It's a mess in here. Why can't you keep your thoughts nice and orderly the way Sam does?"_

"I like to keep my enemies confused." Jack replied.

_"What?" _

"If I don't know what I'm thinking...neither do they."

_"That's absurd." _

"That may be but at least I don't ha..."

"Boys, please." Sam interrupted. "Don't make me separate you two."

"Heaven forbid." 

_"Sam's right, we have work to do." _

Jack growled in frustration and then made his way towards the Drone Chair that had defeated Anubis. Sam had already place the new ZMP in place so according to theory everything should be set. Gabriel admitted to the fact that he only had a basic knowledge of what he was doing, but assured Jack that he had a good chance of making it work.

_"I am going to have to take over, I can't explain it to you."_ Gabriel announced. 

"Do whatever you have to..." Jack said just as the communicator he was carrying called his name. "Hang on, Gabriel."

_"Okay."_

"O'Neill here."

"Sir, it's Colonel Nalin. We have yet to hear from Ba'al."

"Then why are you bothering me?" Jack asked. "No news is good news as far as I'm concerned."

"Well, there's more news, Sir."

"I take it that it's not so good."

"Yes and no...well...uh...maybe Dr. Brightman better explain." Nalin stuttered.

"General?" Dr. Brightman's voice lifted up from the small Goa'uld device.

"What's up, Doc?"

"Dr. Jackson regained consciousness."

_"He did?!"_ Gabriel cried happily._ "What happened? Is he okay? Can we talk to him?"_

"Calm down, Gabriel. You're going to give me a headache." Jack muttered before turning back to communicator. "How is he doing?"

"Well, he seemed healthy." Dr. Brightman answered sheepishly.

"'Seemed'?" Jack and Sam questioned in unison. 

Gabriel just groaned.

"He...uh...he took us a bit by surprise and managed to make it through the Stargate."

"He left?!"

"Yes, Sir." 

"How?!" Jack demanded. "Don't we have any kind of security around there?"

"He has codes to all of the doors." Dr. Brightman explained. "Plus he didn't even Dial the Gate...he kind of just...opened it."

Jack rolled his eyes. For a brief moment he marveled at how much trouble Daniel truly was. Keeping him in any one place was like trying to nail jell-o to the wall. How Daniel had survived this long was beyond him, and then Jack realized that he **hadn't** survived this long. It was just that the Grim Reaper had just as much trouble keeping a hold of him as anyone else.

"How can one man be so smart and so stupid at the same time?" Jack grumbled.

"Sir?" Dr. Brightman asked after not getting a response.

"He didn't happen to mention where he was going, did he?"

"No, Sir." Dr. Brightman admitted. "The strange part is that according to our computer the wormhole that he opened up was Earth's Address."

_"Oh, Daniel...you didn't."_ Gabriel sighed.

"He didn't what?" Jack asked in a tone that clearly stated that he wasn't looking forward to the answer.

_"There is only one explanation..."_

"Sir, Daniel must have Gated to Ba'al's ship." Sam pointed out. "When a ship nears another Stargate it takes on its Address, Daniel must have found a way around the 'busy signal' problem."

_"...and that would be it."_ Gabriel agreed.

"He can do that?" 

_"I wouldn't have thought so...but then again I've seen him do quite a bit that I thought impossible."_

"I have a Niacine hand device in my lab," Sam mused "if he got a hold of it..."

"Doc," Jack growled into the communicator "Daniel didn't steal anything from Carter's lab, did he?"

"Yes, Sir." Dr. Brightman replied quietly. "A silver hand device."

Jack reached up and rubbed at his temple. He didn't want to destroy Ba'al's ship while Daniel was still onboard, but if the ships moved in to attack he wouldn't have a choice. He looked up at Sam and could see that she was having the same thought.

"Well at least we know one thing for sure about Daniel." Jack sighed.

_"He hasn't changed." _

"He hasn't changed." Sam echoed.

"Not one bit."


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter Forty-one

Daniel stepped out of the Gate with his eyes welded shut. He had no idea if the wormhole he had opened was going to take him where he wanted to go. He was actually a little surprised that he had made it through at all. He opened one eye and glanced around. 

He found his surroundings to be surprisingly familiar. There was no saying whether or not it was Ba'al's ship, but it was defiantly a Goa'uld ship. Without thinking it through Daniel stepped forward and slammed into the energy shield that protected the Gate.

"Of course." Daniel sighed. 

Daniel looked around for a way to disable the shield. When he couldn't find the device that generated the shield he decided to try his luck once more with the hand device. He pressed his palm against the glittering shield and closed his eyes.

He didn't realize how much weight he was putting on his hand until the shield suddenly gave way and he fell forward through it. It hadn't been graceful, but it had worked. Walking over to the door he opened it and cautiously looked out into the hall.

"At least there is no welcoming party."

Actually there didn't seem to be anyone around. Daniel decided against worry about that and started worrying about what exactly he hoped to accomplish by this little stunt. He hadn't really thought past getting away from the SGC. 

Figuring that disabling the ship was the best place to start Daniel made his way down towards the hyper drives. Along the way he could swear that he could hear staff weapon fire off in the distance. Pausing for a moment he concentrated on pinpointing the sound.

The sudden blast that shot high over his shoulder nearly made him jump out of his own skin. He had been so focused on the distant fighting that he hadn't noticed that the fight had come to him. He whirled around and found a single Jaffa guard standing awkwardly in the hall.

The Jaffa took a step backwards and fired again. Daniel raised his hand device to protect himself from the blast, but it wasn't necessary, the guard's aim was far off to the right. Curling his lip in anger Daniel purposefully walked towards the Jaffa with his hand device raised and glowing a bright red, like an infected wound.

All of the colour drained from the guards face. He dropped his staff weapon, which set it off again. The blast harmlessly slammed into the wall. Daniel kept advancing but, stopped as the Jaffa fell to his knees and prostrated himself on the stone floor.

"Please, please, My Lord, forgive me!" The guard simpered. 

"What?" Daniel replied in confusion. 

"Please don't hurt me...I...I'm just trying to protect my family."

"Your family?" Daniel repeated as he lowered his hand. "Here on the ship?"

"No, back home."

"I don't understand." Daniel admitted. "Please, sit up. What are you talking about?"

The guard glanced up at Daniel and then hesitantly pushed himself up. Still on his knees he wrung his hands nervously. Daniel had never met a Jaffa with an anxiety disorder before, it was more than a little unsettling.

"Lord Ba'al will torture and murder my family if I do not serve him." The guard admitted quietly.

"You...uh...you don't serve him because he is your 'god'?"

"God? No...he...he has simply enslaved my world. One year and seventy-eight days ago."

"I take it that day is etched in your memory."

"It marks how much longer I must stay here. Every able bodied male must serve in his Army for ten years. If we refuse, or fail him in any way...I...I have a wife and a young son, I don't want to lose them."

Daniel knit his brow as he thought over the guards words. It didn't make any sense, but at the same time it seemed to be the truth. The man before him looked like he was about to pass out from fear alone.

"You're not Jaffa?" Daniel asked. 

"No." The man shook his head.

"What's your name?"

"Ry'is."

"Ry'is, what is happening on this ship?"

"A revolt." Ry'is whimpered. "Talmon...you...you did something to him, and now this ship is at war with itself."

"Jaffa against human?"

"Not necessarily. It is those loyal to Ba'al against those who wish to rise against him."

"Which side are you on?"

"I don't know." Ry'is wailed pitifully. "I'm not a warrior, I'm a tailor! I just want to go home, but there is no sense in going back if it is only to watch my loved ones beaten to death."

Ry'is broke down into tears. Daniel took a step toward him but stopped when he cringed down to the floor once more. His whole frame was trembling violently. Daniel looked around, unsure of what to do about this new development. Ry'is continued to weep, unable to control himself any longer.

"Where is Ba'al?" Daniel asked.

"I don't know...I try to keep from being noticed by anyone."

"Alright, do you know where the Gate is?"

Ry'is nodded.

"Go there and hide. When this is over I'll come back for you and my friends and I will help you, and your family."

Ry'is's face lit up with a grateful smile. He slowly rose to his feet and took Daniel's wrist. Daniel tried to pull away, but Ry'is managed to kiss the back of his hand reverently. Ry'is took a step back and bowed deeply.

"Don't do that." Daniel chastised.

"Talmon was right about you." 

Before Daniel got a chance to ask Ry'is what he meant by that or even who 'Talmon' was the former guard ran off. Daniel tried to think of a reason for Ba'al to start turning to human guards, but couldn't think of one. As far as he knew there were still entire worlds of Jaffa still loyal to him. 

Daniel shook his head to clear his thoughts. He didn't have time to be worrying about Ba'al's inability to find good help. Making it to the hyper drive room he stepped inside. Surprised to find that he wasn't alone Daniel held up his hand defensively.

The man facing the main power Crystal turned around slowly. It took Daniel a moment, but he finally recognized him as the human slave that Ba'al had offered to him a new host. The man smiled brightly and gave Daniel a respectful bow.

"I knew you would come." 

"You must be Talmon." Daniel guessed.

"Yes, my Lord."

"Please don't call me that."

"As you wish, Gabriel."

"I'm not Gabriel either."

"Yes you are." Talmon insisted "I have seen it."

"Seen what?"

"You freed the Niacines...and now you've come to free us."

"I'm here to make sure Ba'al doesn't destroy my home."

"Then there is someone I think you should meet." Talmon smiled. 

Talmon walked calmly past Daniel to lead the way. 

"I...uh...I really don't have time for this. I need to disable this ships weapons."

"I have already done so."

"Really?"

"Yes, you taught me how."

Daniel didn't get a chance to ask Talmon what he meant. The man walked off down the hall confident that Daniel would follow. After a moment of hesitation he decided that he would.

Talmon brought him to the upper level of the ship where the First Prime's quarters were. At the door were two guards. One held himself like a Jaffa, strong and sure of himself. While the other one had the nervous edge of a slave disobeying his master. 

Both guards bowed to Talmon and Daniel and allowed them to pass. Inside Ba'al's First Prime was standing by the thick glass window staring out at the Earth below. Daniel looked around nervously, his every sense on high alert.

"Qu'il," Talmon greeted "have you thought over all that I have said?"

"I have." The First Prime responded as he turned around. "Lord Gabriel, it is an honour to meet you."

"I'm not 'Lord' anything, so please don't call me that."

"Then it is true?" Qu'il asked hopefully.

"Is what true?" Daniel asked looking around nervously.

"That you do not hold yourself above others?" Qu'il clarified. "You are Goa'uld, I sense it...and yet you would shake hands with me as though I was an equal?"

In response Daniel pulled off the hand device and held out his hand for the First Prime to take. The Jaffa hesitated for a moment but then he reached out and shook Daniel's hand joyfully. 

"Qu'il," Talmon said urgently "it is in your power to end the war on this ship. The other Jaffa will follow your lead."

"Yes, and I am sure that you can convince the humans that banding together is the only course."

"Whoa...wait a minute." Daniel interrupted. "What is going on here?"

"We have lost faith in our 'god'." Qu'il admitted. 

"Where is Ba'al?"

"He is not here."

"What?"

"Part of what began to shake my faith was the fact that he himself would not come to destroy the Tau'ri. It was Talmon who explained to me why."

"Do you think you could explain it to me?" Daniel asked.

"He fears you...he has a fear in his heart that no true God should feel."

"Okay..." Daniel replied slowly. 

"It is not the only reason that I have been swayed to turn against him. He is also turning against us."

""Us' meaning the Jaffa?"

"Yes. He is limiting our breeding, even slaughtering young male Jaffa, replacing our numbers with human slaves."

"Why?"

"That I do not know. And at the moment I do not care. This is a glorious day." Qu'il smiled "For Ba'al it is the beginning of the end."

"No chance that this is closer to being the middle of the end, or even the end of the end?" Daniel smiled hopefully.

"No, my friend, we are far from that day."

"Great."

"Ba'al will not be defeated by this small loss. We are but one ship, sent to see the truth behind your weapon. He will retreat into his home...which is where a snake becomes most dangerous."

"Well then," Daniel growled "you can call me Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. Because I am never giving up on hunting him."

"Ri'ki Ti'ki Ta-vi?" The First Prime repeated. "Is that your true name?"

"Um...no...it's Daniel." Daniel smiled. "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is the name of a Mongoose that follows a Cobra into its den to protect his adopted human family."

"Then you will help us?"

"I think we can help each other."


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter Forty-two

_"Jack? How...how are you feeling?" _

"I've felt worse." Jack shrugged. "What's going on in there?"

_"I don't know...I can't control your fever. I don't know how much longer I can stay."  
_  
"What do you mean?"

_"This is taxing your body, I don't want to push you too hard." _

"I'm fine, Gabriel." Jack said firmly. "We need to give Daniel some more time."

_"Very well."_ Gabriel conceded._ "I am going to try and rest, maybe that will help."_

Jack nodded, and then wondered if Gabriel could sense the action or if he could just read the thought. Either way it was too late clarify, he could feel the Goa'uld retreating into his version of sleep. Becoming increasingly uncomfortable Jack unzipped his heavy winter parka. 

"Sir? Are you alright?"

"Carter I know it was over a year ago when I gave you the order to never ask me that again...but it still stands."

"Okay...then how is Gabriel?"

"He doesn't seem to be enjoying my company." 

"You should close your jacket, Sir." Sam clucked like a concerned mother.

"I'm fine."

Sam gave Jack a worried look and stepped closer. When she reached out to touch him he found himself suddenly paralyzed. Sam gently scratched her fingernails down his exposed throat. She held up her hand so that he could see the results.

"What is that?" Jack asked.

"Ice."

Jack furrowed his brow and scratched the thin layer of ice off his throat. He hadn't even noticed the fact that his sweat was freezing as it came in contact with the Antarctic air. He was just about to ask Gabriel about it when his communicator squawked.

"O'Neill." Jack answered half heartedly.

"Sir, it's Ba'al...he's here." Colonel Nalin informed. "Or rather his hologram is."

"Take a message."

"Sir?"

"Oh, alright...put him on speaker."

Despite the circumstances Sam had to smile at the way Jack stuck his tongue out at the communicator, like a kid making a face behind the teacher's back. Her stomach was knotting at the thought that Ba'al had Daniel again and was about to use him as an additional bargaining chip.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ba'al demanded.

"The meaning of what exactly?" Jack replied innocently.

"Where are you?"

"Minnesota." Jack chirped. "It's lovely this time of year. I'm getting some last minute fishing in before you blow the place up."

"It wouldn't have to come to that, if you would just give me what I want."

"How about I be a gentleman about all of this and give you one last chance to just pack up your toys and leave us alone?" Jack retorted.

"Give me Gabriel!"

"Never heard of him."

"This is foolish!" Ba'al snapped in anger. "I am not even asking for you to hand over his wretched host! I know you can remove him if you wish. Is he really worth the life of every living creature on your world?"

"Is he worth your life and every other life on your ship?" Jack hissed back. "Because if you don't back off right now, I'm going to drop you out of the sky."

"Fine. I will begin destroying the far side of your planet first. As the death toll rises I will contact you again."

"Ba'..." Jack didn't finish, he knew Ba'al was gone even though he couldn't see him.

Jack bowed his head and sighed heavily. He looked up at Sam, her expression was as unreadable as a sheet of glass. He knew what he had to do, he just wasn't sure if he'd be able to do it. Sam's expression softened to one of empathy.

"Sir...we've given Daniel all the time we can afford."

"I know."

"If Ba'al moves his ship away from the outpost we have no guarantee that the weapon will still work."

"I know."

"We can't even be sure that Daniel's on board...and if he is..."

"He'll be better off dead." Jack finished. He took a deep breath and turned towards the chair. "Gabriel?"

_"Yes."_ Gabriel answered quietly.

"We have to do this now."

_"I don't know if I can." _

"Gabriel, I hate to say this, you know that I do, but this is more important than Daniel."

_"That's not what I mea..."_

Gabriel was cut off as the sound of the transporter rings suddenly filled the icy cavern. Jack and Sam both snapped to attention and drew their sidearms. The rings leapt up out of the floor, blinding them for a moment with there light.

When the rings fell again Sam and Jack just stared in disbelief. Still dressed in white scrubs Daniel suddenly stood in the Ancient outpost with them. It took a moment for them to lower their weapons as recognition slowly sunk in.

"Daniel?"

"Ohmygod that's cold!" Daniel cried.

Daniel hopped from one barefoot to the other, trying to keep off the frozen floor. Realizing that it wasn't helping he spread out his hand that wore the Niacine hand device. With out any visible effort he heated a place on the floor to stand on. Although standing on warmer ground he wrapped his arms over his chest.

"Take my jacket." Jack said instantly as he pulled it off.

"Thank you." Daniel said gratefully. 

"I don't really need or want it anyway." Jack smiled. "Nice of you to drop by."

"Daniel...how?" Sam asked as she stepped up and gave him a warm hug.

"Let's save story time for later, Carter." Jack beamed. "Now that Danny-boy is here, let's blow some stuff up!" 

"No!" Daniel protested. "Wait!"

"Daniel?"

"Ba'al's not up there...and I've sort of made friends with the people who are."

"Of course you have."

"Honestly, they're not a threat. In fact they are going to help us."

"So now what do we do?" Sam asked.

"Might I suggest going home?" Daniel smiled. "I could really use a hot shower."

"Sounds like a pla..."

Jack stopped suddenly. Daniel reached out instinctively as Jack's knees gave way. Jack dug his fingers into the thick jacket that Daniel now wore. He used the purchase to haul himself back to his feet as best he could. Daniel kept his arms around him to steady him. Jack forced a smile and released his hold on the jacket with one hand so that he touch Daniel's cheek.

"Gabriel?"

"I'm so glad that I got to see you again, Daniel." Gabriel panted. "Thank you for everything."

"Gabriel, what's happening?"

"I...I don't know." Gabriel stuttered as he fought some hidden pain. "Something's wrong...I'm dying...I...I'm sorry."

"Dying?!" Daniel and Sam cried in unison.

"I won't...I won't take Jack with me...I promise."

"Wait! Gabriel, I don't understand..."

"Neither do I..."

Gabriel gasped and then wailed in agony. The heat radiating off of Jack's skin reminded Daniel of when he'd fallen ill with the Plague. However he didn't know if it was Jack himself that was ill or if it was just Gabriel. Daniel watched helplessly as Jack's dark eyes rolled back to white as both he and Gabriel passed out.

"Gabriel? ...Gabriel!"


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter Forty-three

Jack fought against a fog-like foe. He could feel it pressing down on him, but he couldn't touch it. He couldn't see it, because it blinded him with its darkness. Worse than the claustrophobia was the acute sense of loneliness. He felt that there should be someone with him, but no one was there.

Close to the surface of the lake that he believed himself to be drowning in Jack put all of his will into breaking through to the air. With a panicked gasp Jack managed to open his eyes. A throbbing pain greeted him cheerfully, and he groaned quietly against it.

Completely disoriented he started to try and figure out his darkened surroundings. The soft surface pressing against his back and the gentle beeping of a heart monitor quickly told him he'd ended up in the infirmary. How wasn't really important at the moment.

He turned his head to the right and discovered Sam laying in the next bed over. She still wore her off base uniform, even using her heavy winter jacket as a pillow. Jack carefully looked her over until he was satisfied that she was uninjured. In the bed beyond her Teal'c also seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

Jack closed his eyes to recover some more of his strength. He felt like he'd been suffering from the flu. With his eyes closed he noticed something against his left arm, a rhythmic warm brushing.

Confused he willed his eyes open again and tried to figure out what was happening. Daniel was sitting in chair pulled up to the bed side. At some point he had leaned forward and folded his arms on the bed. It probably hadn't been long after that that he'd put his head down and fallen asleep. The brushing Jack had felt was the heat of Daniel's breath.

Jack started to feel the heaviness of sleep settling over him once again. However this time it was a comforting sensation rather than a fight against an unwelcome darkness. Everyone was here, everyone was safe.

_Not everyone...who's missing?_ Jack thought to himself. _Someone else should be here..._

The answer didn't come in time, Jack succumb to unconsciousness once more. It was hours before he stirred again. When he woke the only thing that had changed was the fact that his arm had gone cold. Looking over he saw that Daniel had sat back in the chair. Jack's blood flashed to ice at the distressing, yet all too familiar, far off look in Daniel's unfocused eyes.

"Daniel?"

"Jack." Daniel greeted quietly as he snapped back into focus. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel like someone split the back of my head open." Jack replied with a wry smile.

"Just your neck." Daniel smiled.

"What...what went wrong?"

"You're Ancient."

"You're not getting any younger either." Jack retorted with mock indignity.

"You know what I mean." Daniel said with a tone of false frustration. "Goa'uld can't take different species as hosts. Actually, they can take them, they just can't keep them."

"Are you saying that we are really that different from one another?" Jack asked. "Because I've had my suspicions about that."

"Gabriel can only be with a Niacine." Daniel replied. "Your immune system launched a full scale attack on him, like an incompatible organ transplant being rejected. He didn't have the strength to leave you himself, so we had to do it surgically."

"Is he..." Jack hesitated. "Is Gabriel alright?"

"He's slowly recovering." Daniel replied with a warm smile.

"That's good. I was just starting to get to like him." Jack admitted. "Where is he?"

"I'm right here." Gabriel replied, dropping Daniel's voice into a deep resonating tone.

"Man, that's still creepy." Jack shuddered. "So Daniel's decided to let you stay?"

"Under one condition." Gabriel smiled.

"What's that?"

"That you don't send me away because of it." Daniel replied.

"I think you both know I would never do that." Jack chuckled. "Besides, they always say that it's best to keep your enemies close, and your friends closer."

"That's not how the saying goes, Jack." Daniel smiled and shook his head.

"Well maybe it should."

"I hope that makes me a friend rather than an enemy." Gabriel voiced.

Jack just smiled and nodded. A smile spread across Daniel's face that was pure Gabriel. There was a subtle change in his blue eyes and Jack suddenly knew that he was looking at Daniel once again. It was this change that Sam had been able to sense all along. Jack fought to keep his eyes open, but sleep was closing in on him once again.

"Get some rest, Jack."

"What are you going to do?"

"The same."

"Then it's a deal."

Daniel waited until Jack fell back asleep before getting up an leaving the infirmary. It was nearing four in the morning, but he was no longer tired. He wandered the empty hallways of the SGC down towards his office. Once there he picked up the framed picture of Sha're that he kept there.

_"I'm sorry you had to leave her."_ Gabriel said softly.

"At least this time I got to say good-bye." Daniel smiled sadly. "Besides, I'll see her again. Assuming you keep your promise."

_"My very presence here will keep you younger than you should be, but I will not do anything to lengthen your life unnaturally. You will simply get better use out of the years you have left."_

"Thank you."

Gabriel went silent, but Daniel could sense that he had something more to say. Rather than ask Daniel wandered over to the other side of his desk and sat down. He tried not to think about the long road ahead, but when he finally gave into the thoughts he realized that he was not only ready for the future, but looking forward to it.

_"Daniel?"_ Gabriel asked at a near whisper.

"Yes?"

_"Can I ask you why you came back?"_

"When you wouldn't tell me what was happening I came to a realization."

_"What is that?"_

"Friends worth dying for are also worth living for."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Note from the Phoenix: Thank you to all of you who have joined the team and I on this little adventure. Next up 'Hardwired'...


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